Zimbabwe tail frustrates Pakistan

HARARE: Pakistan reached 24 for no wicket at lunch in reply to Zimbabwe's first innings total of 294 all out on the second day of the second Test against Pakistan at Harare Sports Club on Tuesday.

Pakistan endured a frustrating morning as it took them more than an hour and one ball short of 20 overs to capture the last two Zimbabwe wickets after the home side resumed at 235 for eight.

Junaid Khan took his fourth wicket of the innings when Prosper Utseya hooked a short ball to deep backward square leg after making a stubborn 22 off 82 balls.

Tendai Chatara and Brian Vitori added 46 for the last wicket, enjoying some fortune but seldom being threatened by some unimpressive Pakistan bowling on an easy-paced pitch. Cracks were visible on the surface but the bounce was mainly predictable.

Junaid finished the innings with four for 67 but in eight overs on Wednesday was unable to recapture the menace he showed on the first day.

Off-spinner Saeed Ajmal, who took 11 wickets in Pakistan's win in the first Test at the same venue, sent down seven overs without adding to his single wicket of the first day.

Left-arm spinner Abdur Rehman ended Zimbabwe's resistance when he trapped Chatara leg before wicket. He finished with three for 47.

Khurram Manzoor, on one, survived a confident appeal for a catch behind the wicket when he appeared to glove a ball from Brian Vitori shortly before lunch but was given not out by umpire Ranmore Martinesz. No decision review system is available for the series.

Mohammad Hafeez, who had scored only 64 runs at an average of 8.00 in four previous Tests in 2013, was on 22 not out at the interval - his highest Test score of the year.