Zaman and Nawaz star as Pakistan beat Zimbabwe by five wickets

Pakistan overcame a top-order collapse to edge out spirited Zimbabwe by five wickets in the opener of a T20 tri-series on Tuesday.

- 

Zimbabwe, who have qualified for next year's T20 World Cup, put up a good show with the ball before Pakistan reached 151-5 in the final over as Fakhar Zaman returned to the format with a top score of 44 off 32 balls.

Zimbabwe ruined a rollicking start and got restricted to 147-8 with spinners Mohammad Nawaz (2-22), Abrar Ahmed (1-28) and Saim Ayub (1-31) squeezing the visitors in the second half of the innings. "It was a close game," Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha said. "Our spinners have been doing well for the last 4-5 months and they're the ones that put us back in the game."

Fast bowler Brad Evans (2-26) picked up two wickets in one over and Tinotenda Maposa had Agha lbw of a perfect yorker as Pakistan slipped to 30-3 inside the batting power play and gave Zimbabwe a glimmer of hope.