The pair is unbeaten, having added 164 for the eighth wicket after Zimbabwe struck thrice
Tea Pakistan 505 for 7 (Abid 215*, Nauman 93*, Muzarabani 3-82) vs Zimbabwe
After four attritional sessions of Zimbabwe ensuring they stayed within touching distance of Pakistan, Abid Ali and Nauman Ali wrenched the game out of the hosts' hands in a devastating session for Zimbabwe's chances. If the hosts imagined they would come out after lunch and mop up the tail, the two put paid to such fanciful notions, hurtling through the gears to register a 164-run partnership that has now stretched Pakistan's total to 505.
Abid, who now seems to have taken up residence on this Harare pitch, brought up his first double hundred, while a breezy innings from Nauman means the No. 9 will be just seven runs away from a remarkable hundred when the two come out again after tea.
With Zimbabwe supposedly well into the Pakistan tail, there was expectation that the more able batter in Abid would take a more progressive approach through the middle session, but it was Nauman who broke the shackles more regularly. He targeted the spinners from time to time, awaiting deliveries in the slot to launch over long-on as five of Pakistan's six sixes came off his bat. Once he got to his half-century - with a boundary to square leg naturally - he began to lay waste to the Zimbabwe attack.
Luke Jongwe was smashed for 17 in that over, before Milton Shumba found himself going for 18 in the following one. It seemed no sooner than Abid's double century had come up that Nauman was eyeing three figures of his own. Blink and you would miss it, but by tea, the scorecard had Nauman single digits away from a hundred that, by the standards of Pakistan's scoring in this Test, has come at warp speed.
It might be a tad unfair to say Abid hasn't adjusted the tempo of his innings over five sessions, but he continued to prioritise solidity and assuredness over speed. It is hard to fault the formula that has ground Zimbabwe into the dust for nearly two days, and when Abid pulled a long hop to cow corner to bring up 200, there was a sense of inevitability about it. He might bat the whole Test without anyone being able to get him, with the looming declaration perhaps the only way Zimbabwe will get to see his back.
However, both sides claimed a share of the spoils in the morning session. At that point, the hosts kept their hopes of restricting Pakistan below 400 alive with wickets at regular intervals, and were just three strikes away from wrapping up the innings. Pakistan's nightwatchman Sajid Khan frustrated Zimbabwe for the first hour, but saw his stay come to an end thanks to a splendid diving catch from Regis Chakabva, whose wicketkeeping has been under scrutiny at times on this tour.
Donald Tiripano banged one in short as Khan got a thick edge, with a wrong-footed Chakabva leaping far to his right to snare it with one hand. Khan had scored a useful 20 by this point, with the 300 brought up for Pakistan.
Mohammad Rizwan combined for an equally handy partnership with the ever-present Abid, speeding things up as he did. There were a few whipped boundaries through the off side and the pair might have carried through to lunch before Rizwan tried to target Tendai Chisoro over mid-on. A horrible miscue found the fielder, and tailender Hasan Ali nicked off to Jongwe in the following over.
Zimbabwe might have smelled blood then, but in the session that would follow, it would be Pakistan who would land all the punches.
Danyal Rasool is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo. @Danny61000
Recent Match Report - Pakistan vs Zimbabwe 2nd Test 2021 - ESPNcricinfo
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