Off-spinner Usman Tariq claimed a hat-trick in Pakistan's tri-series clash against Zimbabwe at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Sunday, November 23. Tariq joined an elite list of players to take a T20I hat-trick for Pakistan, becoming the fourth player to have done so for the Men in Green.
Tariq achieved the feat in the ninth over of the second innings during the clash. He first removed Tony Munyonga, caught at short-fine before cleaning up Tashinga Musekiwa for a golden duck. The spinner completed his hat-trick by dismissing Wellington Masakadza with Babar Azam taking the catch at long-on. Tariq has now become the fourth Pakistani player to take a hat-trick.
Hat-tricks for Pakistan in T20Is:
Faheem Ashraf vs SL, Abu Dhabi, 2017
Mohammad Hasnain vs SL, Lahore, 2019
Mohammad Nawaz vs AFG, Sharjah, 2025
Usman Tariq vs ZIM, Rawalpindi, 2025
Pakistan into final of tri-series
Meanwhile, Pakistan have qualified for the final of the tri-series with their win over Zimbabwe. The Men in Green have won all three matches in the tournament, having earlier beaten Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka. With this win, Pakistan now have the most victories against Zimbabwe in T20 cricket.
Most wins against Zimbabwe in T20Is:
PAK: 20 wins (23 mts)
AFG: 19 wins (21 mts)
BAN: 17 wins (25 mts)
Batting first, Pakistan posted a strong total of 195 runs, thanks to half-centuries from Babar Azam (74) and Sahibzada Farhan (63). Their performances helped Pakistan reach a commanding score.
For Zimbabwe, Ryan Burl fought hard with a 67-run knock, while captain Sikandar Raza contributed 23 runs. Apart from these two, no other batter even reached double digits, and the entire Zimbabwe team was bowled out for 126.
Zimbabwe's Playing XI: Brian Bennett, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Brendan Taylor(w), Sikandar Raza(c), Ryan Burl, Tony Munyonga, Tashinga Musekiwa, Brad Evans, Tinotenda Maposa, Richard Ngarava, Wellington Masakadza
Pakistan's Playing XI: Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Babar Azam, Salman Agha(c), Usman Khan(w), Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Naseem Shah, Usman Tariq
