Seamers Shaheen Afridi and Hasan Ali have taken four wickets apiece as Pakistan seized control of the first Test against Zimbabwe on the opening day at the Harare Sports Club.
The pair helped the tourists dismiss their hosts for 176 in the first innings on Thursday, before Pakistan reached 103 without loss in reply at the close to trail by just 73 runs in the first game of the two-Test series.
Openers Abid Ali (56 not out) and Imran Butt (43 not out) looked assured on a placid wicket and will seek to give their side a big first-innings lead when play resumes on the second day.
Zimbabwe won the toss and elected to bat, handing debuts to seamer Richard Ngarava, and middle-order batsmen Roy Kaia and Milton Shumba.
Pakistan selected unorthodox off-spinner Sajid Khan for his first Test cap, though he went wicketless through the first innings.
Zimbabwe were teetering at 4-30 after an early blitz with the new ball from Shaheen (4-43) and Hasan (4-53), but a 59-run stand for the fifth wicket between top scorer Kaia (48) and Shumba (27) steadied the home side.
Their stand was broken by the needless run out of Shumba and Zimbabwe then lost wickets at steady intervals.
The teams are meeting in the Test arena for the first time since 2013, when Zimbabwe claimed the last of their three wins. Pakistan have enjoyed 10 victories in their 17 clashes.
Australian Associated Press
