Spinners propel Pakistan to emphatic 57-run win over Zimbabwe in 1st T20

BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe (AP) — Pakistan's spinners propelled their team to an emphatic 57-run win over Zimbabwe in the first Twenty20 cricket international on Sunday.

Left-arm wrist spinner Sufiyan Muqeem claimed 3 wickets for 20 runs and leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed picked up 3-28 as Zimbabwe was bowled out for 108 in 15.3 overs. The hosts lost their last eight wickets for 31 runs.

Pakistan, which won the toss and elected to bat, had posted 165-4 on the back of Tayyab Tahir’s unbeaten 39 off 26 balls and Irfan Khan’s 27 not out off 15 as both batters combined in a 65-run stand to lift the total in the death overs.

Zimbabwe couldn't cash in on a counterattack from captain Sikandar Raza (39 in 28) and Tadiwanashe Marumani (33 in 20) in the powerplay after Ahmed had clean bowled Brian Bennett and Dion Myers in his second over.

Marumani smacked left-arm fast bowler Jahandad Khan for three successive boundaries in a 21-run over and Raza smashed three consecutive fours against Ahmed as Zimbabwe came back strongly by racing to 53-2 in five overs.

Zimbabwe looked strong at 77-2 in the ninth over before Marumani got run out while going for a second on an overthrow and the home team’s batting collapsed afterward.

Fast bowler Haris Rauf surpassed Shadab Khan’s Pakistan record of 107 wickets in T20s when Ryan Burl spooned an easy catch to mid-off as the middle-order struggled to negotiate the spin of Muqeem in the middle overs. Rauf then sent Blessing Muzarabani's leg stump cartwheeling to finish with 2-17.

Raza was smartly held by Saim Ayub at point in Jahandad’s comeback over as Muqeem capped a perfect spell by having two wickets off the last two balls of his four overs.

Earlier, Zimbabwe’s trio of spinners — Raza (1-14), Wellington Masakadza (1-23) and Burl (1-27) — restrained Pakistan in the middle overs before Irfan and Tayyab accelerated in the death overs. Left-arm spinner Richard Ngarava (1-41) and Muzarabani (0-41) gave away 44 runs in the last three overs. The two batters smashed seven boundaries and a six between them.

Zimbabwe was untidy in the field with Raza dropping a regulation catch at first slip in Ngarava’s second over which could have dismissed Usman Khan for 0 with the batter going on to score 39 off 30 before edging Burl behind in the 13th over.

Pakistan won the preceding ODI series 2-1 but went into the T20 series without its frontline white-ball players including captain Mohammad Rizwan.

The second match will be played Tuesday before Pakistan ends its tour with the 3rd T20 on Thursday. Both games are in Bulawayo.

AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

Zimbabwe's Tadiwanashe Marumani bats, during the first T20 cricket match between Zimbabwe and Pakistan at Queens Sports Club, in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Wonder Mashura)

Zimbabwe's Sikandar Raza bats as Pakistan's Usman Khanduring fields, during the first T20 cricket match between Zimbabwe and Pakistan at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Wonder Mashura)

Pakistan's Haris Rauf bowls during the first T20 cricket match between Zimbabwe and Pakistan at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Wonder Mashura)

Zimbabwe's Sikandar Raza bowls during the first T20 cricket match between Zimbabwe and Pakistan at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Wonder Mashura)

Pakistan's Muhammad Irfan Khan at the wicket during the first T20 cricket match between Zimbabwe and Pakistan at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Wonder Mashura)

Pakistan's Saim Ayub plays a ball during the first T20 cricket match between Zimbabwe and Pakistan at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Wonder Mashura)

Pakistan's Omair Bin Yousuf bats during the first T20 cricket match between Zimbabwe and Pakistan at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Wonder Mashura)

Pakistan celebrates a wicket during the third ODI cricket match between Zimbabwe and Pakistan at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Wonder Mashura)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's photo portrait display at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery has had references to his two impeachments removed, the latest apparent change at the collection of museums he has accused of bias as he asserts his influence over how official presentations document U.S. history.

The wall text, which summarized Trump's first presidency and noted his 2024 comeback victory, was part of the museum's “American Presidents” exhibition. The description had been placed alongside a photograph of Trump taken during his first term. Now, a different photo appears without any accompanying text block, though the text was available online. Trump was the only president whose display in the gallery, as seen Sunday, did not include any extended text.

The White House did not say whether it sought any changes. Nor did a Smithsonian statement in response to Associated Press questions. But Trump ordered in August that Smithsonian officials review all exhibits before the nation celebrates the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence on July 4. The Republican administration said the effort would “ensure alignment with the president’s directive to celebrate American exceptionalism, remove divisive or partisan narratives, and restore confidence in our shared cultural institutions.”

Trump's original “portrait label," as the Smithsonian calls it, notes Trump's Supreme Court nominations and his administration's development of COVID-19 vaccines. That section concludes: “Impeached twice, on charges of abuse of power and incitement of insurrection after supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, he was acquitted by the Senate in both trials.”

Then the text continues: “After losing to Joe Biden in 2020, Trump mounted a historic comeback in the 2024 election. He is the only president aside from Grover Cleveland (1837– 1908) to have won a nonconsecutive second term.”

Asked about the display, White House spokesman Davis Ingle celebrated the new photograph, which shows Trump, brow furrowed, leaning over his Oval Office desk. Ingle said it ensures Trump's “unmatched aura ... will be felt throughout the halls of the National Portrait Gallery.”

The portrait was taken by White House photographer Daniel Torok, who is credited in the display that includes medallions noting Trump is the 45th and 47th president. Similar numerical medallions appear alongside other presidents' painted portraits that also include the more extended biographical summaries such as what had been part of Trump's display.

Sitting presidents are represented by photographs until their official paintings are commissioned and completed.

Ingle did not answer questions about whether Trump or a White House aide, on his behalf, asked for anything related to the portrait label.

The gallery said in a statement that it had previously rotated two photographs of Trump from its collection before putting up Torok's work.

“The museum is beginning its planned update of the America’s Presidents gallery which will undergo a larger refresh this Spring,” the gallery statement said. “For some new exhibitions and displays, the museum has been exploring quotes or tombstone labels, which provide only general information, such as the artist’s name.”

For now, references to Presidents Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton being impeached in 1868 and 1998, respectively, remain as part of their portrait labels, as does President Richard Nixon's 1974 resignation as a result of the Watergate scandal.

And, the gallery statement noted, “The history of Presidential impeachments continues to be represented in our museums, including the National Museum of American History.”

Trump has made clear his intentions to shape how the federal government documents U.S. history and culture. He has offered an especially harsh assessment of how the Smithsonian and other museums have featured chattel slavery as a seminal variable in the nation's development but also taken steps to reshape how he and his contemporary rivals are depicted.

In the months before his order for a Smithsonian review, he fired the head archivist of the National Archives and said he was firing the National Portrait Gallery's director, Kim Sajet, as part of his overhaul. Sajet maintained the backing of the Smithsonian's governing board, but she ultimately resigned.

At the White House, Trump has designed a notably partisan and subjective “Presidential Walk of Fame” featuring gilded photographs of himself and his predecessors — with the exception of Biden, who is represented by an autopen — along with plaques describing their presidencies.

The White House said at the time that Trump himself was a primary author of the plaques. Notably, Trump's two plaques praise the 45th and 47th president as a historically successful figure while those under Biden's autopen stand-in describe the 46th executive as “by far, the worst President in American History” who “brought our Nation to the brink of destruction.”

Barrow reported from Atlanta.

People react to a photograph of President Donald Trump on display at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery's "American Presidents" exhibit on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026 in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)

Visitors to the National Portrait Gallery walk past the portrait of President Donald Trump, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)

Visitors stop to look at a photograph of President Donald Trump and a short plaque next to it are on display at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery's "American Presidents" exhibit on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026 in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)

A photograph of President Donald Trump and a short plaque next to it are on display at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery's "American Presidents" exhibit on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026 in Washington. (AP Photo/Anna Johnson)

President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with oil executives in the East Room of the White House, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)