Pakistan beats spirited Zimbabwe in opening game of T20 tri-series

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistan overcame a top-order collapse to edge out spirited Zimbabwe by five wickets in the opener of a T20 tri-series Tuesday.

Zimbabwe, which has qualified for next year’s T20 World Cup, put up a good show with the ball before Pakistan reached 151-5 in the final over as Fakhar Zaman returned to the format with a top score of 44 off 32 balls.

Zimbabwe ruined a rollicking start and got restricted to 147-8 with spinners Mohammad Nawaz (2-22), Abrar Ahmed (1-28) and Saim Ayub (1-31) squeezing the visitors in the second half of the innings.

“It was a close game,” Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha said. “Our spinners have been doing well for the last 4-5 months and they’re the ones that put us back in the game.”

Fast bowler Brad Evans (2-26) picked up two wickets in one over and Tinotenda Maposa had Agha lbw of a perfect yorker as Pakistan slipped to 30-3 inside the batting power play and gave Zimbabwe a glimmer of hope.

Evans rattled the stumps of Sahibzada Farhan (16) off a delivery that skidded into the right-hander and then had Babar Azam trapped leg before wicket for a three-ball duck as Pakistan lost three wickets for three runs.

Spin all-rounder Graeme Cremer, who returned after missing the home T20 series against Afghanistan, then had Ayub (22) caught at deep mid-wicket as Pakistan slipped further to 54-4 in the 10th over.

But Zaman and wicketkeeper-batter Usman Khan (37 not out) added 61 runs and put the chase back on track before Richard Ngarava (1-30) had Zaman caught behind when the left-hander tried a ramp shot but couldn’t get any elevation.

With 15 needed of the final 10 balls, Zimbabwe missed an opportunity when Brian Bennett dropped a sitter of Nawaz at deep mid-wicket, before the left-hander sealed the game with two successive boundaries in the final over of Maposa to give Pakistan a winning start in the tournament.

Bennett (49), who scored three half-centuries and a century during Zimbabwe's qualification for the T20 World Cup, and Tadiwanashe Marumani (30) provided a blazing start of 59-0 in the power play as both batters showed plenty of aggression against pace and off-spin of Ayub, whose first over went for 17.

But the introduction of Nawaz slowed Zimbabwe's progress when Marumani missed out on a full toss and holed out in the outfield in the 8th over.

Brendan Taylor made run-a-ball 14 but couldn’t beat Babar's strong throw and was run-out while attempting a second run. Bennett, who smashed eight fours, offered a tame return catch to Ayub in the 13th over.

Zimbabwe, which cruised to 88-1 in 10 overs, couldn’t get any momentum and lost wickets to spinners with regular intervals and only skipper Sikander Raza showed some late aggression by scoring unbeaten 34 off 24 balls that included a six off Shaheen Shah Afridi (1-34) in the last over.

“There’s more positives than negatives,” Raza said. “We’re getting to a stage where the fight has always been there, but we must learn how to cross the line. That has been the last hurdle and I’d like to see us crossing the line more often.”

Sri Lanka is the third team in the tournament and will take on Zimbabwe in the next game on Thursday.

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

Zimbabwe's Tashinga Musekiwa, right, is bowled out by Pakistan's Abrar Ahmed during the tri-series T20 cricket match between Pakistan and Zimbabwe, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

Zimbabwe's Brian Bennett plays a shot during the tri-series T20 cricket match between Pakistan and Zimbabwe, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

Zimbabwe's Brad Evans, left, celebrates after takin the wicket of Pakistan's Babar Azam, right, during the tri-series T20 cricket match between Pakistan and Zimbabwe, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

Pakistan's Fakhar Zaman plays a shot during the tri-series T20 cricket match between Pakistan and Zimbabwe, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australia's most decorated living veteran, Ben Roberts-Smith, faces war crime charges on allegations that he killed five unarmed Afghans while serving in Afghanistan from 2009 and 2012, police and media reported on Tuesday.

Police have not confirmed the name of the 47-year-old former soldier who was arrested Tuesday. But he has been widely reported in the media to be Roberts-Smith, a former Special Air Service Regiment corporal who was awarded both the Victoria Cross and Medal of Gallantry for his service in Afghanistan.

Police charged him Tuesday with five counts of war crime murder. He will remain in custody overnight and make his first court appearance on Wednesday, a police statement said.

He will potentially apply for release on bail Wednesday.

Roberts-Smith is only the second Australian veteran of the Afghanistan campaign to be charged with a war crime.

Former SAS soldier Oliver Schulz, 44, has pleaded not guilty to a charge of war crime murder. He is accused of shooting Afghan man Dad Mohammad three times in the head in an Uruzgan province wheat field in May 2012.

War crime murder carries a potential sentence of life in prison. It's a federal crime in Australia, defined as the intentional killing in the context of armed conflict of a person who is not taking an active part in hostilities, such as civilians, prisoners of war or wounded soldiers.

Police arrested Roberts-Smith at Sydney Airport on Tuesday after he arrived on a flight from Brisbane, Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett said.

“It will be alleged that the victims were not taking part in hostilities at the time of their alleged murder in Afghanistan. It will be alleged the victims were detained, unarmed and were under the control of ADF members when they were killed,” Barrett told reporters, referring to the Australian Defense Force.

“It will be alleged the victims were shot by the accused or shot by subordinate members of the ADF in the presence of and acting on the orders of the accused,” Barrett added.

In September last year, Australia's highest court removed Roberts-Smith's last chance to clear his name of court findings that he unlawfully killed four Afghans.

The High Court said it would not hear his appeal against a federal judge's civil court finding in 2023 that he likely killed noncombatants unlawfully in 2009 and 2012.

Three federal court judges had unanimously rejected his appeal against that ruling.

Roberts-Smith sued for defamation after several newspapers published articles in 2018 accusing him of a range of war crimes.

But while the civil courts found the war crimes allegations were mostly proven on a balance of probabilities, the new charges would have to be proved in a criminal court to a higher standard of beyond reasonable doubt.

The charges follow a military report released in 2020 that found evidence that elite Australian SAS and commando regiment troops unlawfully killed 39 Afghan prisoners, farmers and other noncombatants.

Barrett said few soldiers were involved in the new allegations.

“The alleged conduct related to these charges is confined to a very small section of our trusted and respected ADF which helps keep this country safe,” Barrett said.

“The overwhelming majority of our ADF do our country proud. Today’s charges are not reflective of the majority of members who serve under our Australian flag with honor, with distinction and with the values of a democratic nation,” she added.

The Office of the Special Investigator was established to work with police on the war crime allegations. The office’s director of investigations Ross Barnett said allegations of 53 war crimes had been investigated and 39 of those investigations had concluded without charges. Around 40,000 Australian military personnel served in Afghanistan between 2001 and 2021, of whom 41 were killed.

FILE - Ben Roberts-Smith arrives at the Federal Court in Sydney, Australia, on June 9, 2021. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft, File)

Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett speaks to media during a press conference following the arrest of former Australian soldier in Sydney, Tuesday, April 7, 2026. (Bianca De Marchi/AAP Image via AP)