Abdul Razzaq and Younis Khan slammed contrasting half-centuries as a new-look Pakistan beat Zimbabwe by 68 runs in the opening match of the four-nation Sharjah Cup today.
All-rounder Razzaq cracked a blistering 76 while Khan weighed in with a solid 67 as Pakistan recovered from a poor start to post a challenging 278 for seven from their 50 overs.
Zimbabwe needed a good start to keep pace with the required run rate, but their batsmen faltered in the face of a disciplined Pakistan attack and folded to 210 in 44.1 overs.
Only Douglas Marillier offered real resistance, scoring 59 off 73 balls with eight fours, but others failed to negotiate tight spells from debutant seamer Umar Gul, Razzaq, Danish Kaneria and Mohammed Hafeez who shared eight wickets.
Grant Flower needed 14 runs to reach 6,000 runs in one-day cricket, but fell short of the milestone by just one run when he was dismissed by Kaneria for 13.
Sean Ervine (30), Andy Blignaut (24) and Dion Ebrahim (31) delayed the inevitable but Zimbabwe were never in contention.
New Pakistan skipper Rashid Latif, playing his 150th match, could not have asked for a better performance from a team playing its first match since eight big names, including Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis, were dropped following their dismal showing in the World Cup.
Pakistan, batting first after winning the toss, were in trouble on 101 for five but a late flourish, led by Razzaq, knocked the stuffing out of the Zimbabwe attack.
Pakistan rattled up 73 runs in the last five overs with Razzaq and Mohammed Sami (11) sharing a 75-run stand in just 35 balls.
Razzaq slammed seven sixes and two fours in his unbeaten 76 off just 53 balls to stun Zimbabwe who at one stage seemed well in control.
Skipper Heath Streak struck two early blows when he removed both the openers - Taufeeq Umar (16) and debutant Hafeez (12) - to put Pakistan on the back foot.
Inspired by their skipper, Blignaut and Ervine exploited the advantage to keep the Pakistan batsmen in check.
Two run outs - that of Shoaib Malik and Latif - added to the woes of a Pakistan side who struggled on a slow wicket.
Khan remained unruffled, however, and put on 58 runs for the sixth wicket with Latif (34 off 36 balls) and then added another 44 with Razzaq.
Zimbabwe wilted in the face of Razzaq's rampage with Ervine and Douglas Hondo taking the worst punishment, conceding 24 and 23 runs respectively from one over. Pakistan take on Sri Lanka on Friday.