Pakistan knocked Zimbabwe out of the Twenty20 tri-series in Harare in a closely-fought encounter today, beating the hosts by seven wickets with five deliveries to spare. Opener Fakhar Zaman top-scored for Pakistan with 47 before captain Sarfraz Ahmed overcame a spirited Zimbabwean fightback and saw his side home with an unbeaten 38. Their efforts meant that Zimbabwean allrounder Solomon Mire's bellicose earlier innings earlier went in vain.

Mire struck 94, the highest score by a Zimbabwean in Twenty20 internationals, but Zimbabwe's 162 for 4 was not enough to overcome the world's top-ranked T20 side. Zaman said Pakistan was always confident they could pull off a successful chase. "We have a very deep batting line-up, so we were confident we could chase it," he said. Pakistan given a rapid start by Zaman and fellow opener Haris Sohail, who took 56 from the Powerplay.