Lahore, Pakistan--After two nail-biting finishes in the Twenty20 series marking the return of international cricket to Pakistan, the hosts and Zimbabwe move to the three-match one-day series on Tuesday aiming to build for the future.
Pakistan won the Twenty20 series 2-0 Sunday in front of a packed audience of 27,000 at Lahore's Gaddafi stadium, but will be far from happy over the manner of both wins which saw them nearly snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
The matches were played under massive security with 4,000 policemen guarding the stadium and another 2,000 deployed on the route from the team hotel to the venue.
Security has been ratcheted up to avoid a a repeat of the 2009 attacks on the Sri Lankan team bus, which killed eight people and cast Pakistan into sporting exile for six years.
Pakistan's one-day captain Azhar Ali, who did not feature in the Twenty20s, said the huge excitement surrounding the tour had helped the team forget its disastrous 3-0 ODI drubbing in Bangladesh last month.
"The excitement on the return of international cricket was so big that it helped us put our Bangladesh defeat in the back of our minds," said Azhar who took over after Misbah-ul-Haq retired following the 2015 World Cup in April.
"It was disappointing to lose in Bangladesh but we will look to build a team for the future and improve on what we did wrong in Bangladesh."
The 30-year-old middle order batsman said replacing players like Misbah and Shahid Afridi -- who also retired from one-day after the World Cup -- would require time.
"When you lose players of that calibre it takes time to get their replacement," he said, adding his team would not take Zimbabwe lightly.
AFP
