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Liam Brickhill and Danyal Rasool in HARARE
FIVE days ago, Zimbabwe didn’t look close to challenging the world’s top-ranked T20I side, three days ago, it looked like there wasn’t a record Australia couldn’t break against them but, in the last two days, they’ve found some mettle.

They have taken two games against formidable opposition into the last over with the Aussies’ five-wicket win at Harare Sports Club coming with a ball remaining in the contest.

And they have also given their new head coach Lalchand Rajput something to smile about.

“Pushing the two top teams into the last over is a victory in itself,” Rajput said. “I think it’s a great comeback. This team is a work in progress.

“We didn’t have a good start, but the last two games were very close. We’re getting there, but we’re just not getting across the line.

“So we’re really happy, but there’s a lot of work to be done. The one-day series (against Pakistan) is around the corner, and these matches will definitely give us some confidence going into that.”

After tomorrow’s final between Pakistan and Australia, Zimbabwe and Pakistan will head down to Bulawayo for five ODIs.

Rajput wouldn’t be drawn into any speculation as to the return or otherwise of Zimbabwe’s missing players for that series, instead urging his squad to take responsibility for themselves.

“I’d like to see youngsters coming up and raising their hands and saying ‘yes I’ll do it for the team’. Tarisai Musakanda is one, PJ Moor is another one, Blessing Muzarabani bowled exceptionally well today.

“And Donald and Wellington also bowled very well. So guys are coming up and raising their hands, taking responsibility, and that’s a very positive thing.”

Rajput also singled out Solomon Mire, who is second on the run-scoring charts behind Aaron Finch in this tri-series with 212 in four innings, for particular praise.

“(Solomon) Mire is a mainstay,” he said. “He’s gone from strength to strength and given us a bit of stability at the top of the innings. A lot of our batsmen could learn from how he’s paced his innings.

“He has played for a while, but in cricket you’re learning all the time. If he can work on the minor things in his game, he can become a very dependable player. He likes to hit the ball, but shot selection is very important.

“Bigger teams won’t give you too many loose balls, so shot selection is key and if he can continue to improve on that, he’ll be a consistent performer.”

Looking ahead to the ODIs and beyond, Rajput reminded his charges of the need for showing some backbone, even in games they are not going to win.

“Cricket is a learning process. You never master it.

“First and foremost, I would like the players to be out of their comfort zone. That’s very important.

“And not to give up until the last.

“These are players who (in the past) let things happen too easily, who let things slip too easily. In cricket you should never do that. Because anything can happen. Cricket is a funny game, and it can just turn in one over.

“And I think we showed today that we are getting there, because we fought to the very last over.”

Call this a dead rubber all you want; this game had more life in it than perhaps all the others in this tri-series put together.

Zimbabwe, backed vocally by the small crowd that turned up in freezing conditions in Harare, put up their best performance of the tournament, falling agonisingly short in the end.

In a series desperately lacking close contests, the last game before the final provided a memorable finish to warm the hearts of those that sat shivering in the stands.

Cricket — even T20 cricket — isn’t nearly like football, where it can be quite impossible to miss when a game turned on its head.

Not least because in football, those moments coincide with bulging nets and raucous celebrations.

Without a shot played in anger, slowly, almost imperceptibly, Australia turned around a game that, for a good half hour, looked like it was Zimbabwe’s to lose.

If you hadn’t been paying much attention, there would have been a startling moment when you realised you weren’t going to get the upset you’d popped in front of the TV for, but what looked a routine Australian stroll to victory.

It wasn’t quite as simple as that in the end, but the win did come thanks to a century partnership between Travis Head and Glenn Maxwell — the latter making 56 off 38 — as Australia chased down the 152-run target.

Muzarabani — who was fabulous at both top and tail of the innings — returned, Zimbabwe perked up again.

He coaxed a false shot to extra cover from Maxwell off just his second ball back, and suddenly the Australia of the first few overs seemed to have returned.

Two more wickets fell quickly and the game became a tough scrap that went to the final over, but Australia were slightly better at holding their nerve, and that, really, was the difference in the end. — ESPNCricinfo