Ayub smashes maiden ODI hundred in Pakistan's thumping 10-wicket win over Zimbabwe

BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe (AP) — Saim Ayub smashed a maiden ODI hundred off 53 balls as Pakistan romped to a 10-wicket win over Zimbabwe in the second one-day international on Tuesday.

Ayub, the left-handed opening batter, hit 17 fours and three sixes in his unbeaten 113 off 62 balls and sped Pakistan to 148-0 in 18.2 overs. It was the third-fastest century for Pakistan in ODIs.

Pakistan leveled the three-match series and made amends for its stunning 80-run loss on the DLS method in the rain-affected first match on Sunday.

Leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed had earlier snared 4-33 in his debut ODI and off-spinner Salman Ali Agha chipped in with 3-26 to dismiss Zimbabwe for 145 in 32.3 overs after the home team won the toss and elected to bat.

“The way the guys started with the ball, they performed very well and gave us the foundation,” Pakistan captain Mohammad Rizwan said. “After that, Saim Ayub’s innings was exceptional.”

Dion Myers showed flashes of brilliance in his 30-ball knock of 33 with six fours, but the rest of the Zimbabwe batters struggled against both spinners on a wicket conducive for slow bowlers.

Abrar, who bowled alongside new ball bowler Aamer Jamal, struck in his second over when he clean bowled Joylord Gumbie (5) with a sharp turning delivery. Gumbie had earlier been involved in the second successive run-out of the series when Tadiwanashe Marumani fell short of his crease while going for a tight single.

The Zimbabwe batters couldn’t gauge the off-spin of Salman with Myers dismissed lbw on the backfoot and captain Craig Ervine (18) smartly caught by wicketkeeper Rizwan as the batter tried to cut the off-spinner.

Sikandar Raza smashed two sixes in his brief knock of 17 before getting holed out at mid-off as Zimbabwe slumped to 5-97. Sean Williams (31) tried to rebuild the innings but his dismissal saw Zimbabwe losing its last five wickets for 24 runs with Abrar mopping up the tail quickly.

Williams could read the length of Ayub’s off-spin and was out plumb leg before wicket while going for an extravagant reverse sweep that opened the tail.

“We did not apply ourselves for long enough and did not build any substantial partnerships,” Ervine said. “Guys need to take a hard look at themselves, including myself and be a little hard on each other. In hindsight, we might have bowled first, (but) now we have to regroup and put up a good performance on Thursday.”

Ayub hurried the run-chase with some exquisite drives on both sides of the wicket and raised his half century off 32 balls with his signature pulled shot over fine leg for a six to Trevor Gwandu.

Ayub’s opening partner Abdullah Shafique (32 not out) escaped an earlier dropped catch of Blessing Muzarabani before he watched his partner smashing boundaries at will. Ayub reached his century off 53 balls when he hit Brandon Mavuta for a boundary over mid-wicket as the leg-spinner conceded 47 runs off his four wicketless overs.

Flamboyant former international batter Shahid Afridi still holds the record of fastest ODI hundred for Pakistan. He made 102 off 37 balls against Sri Lanka at Nairobi in 1996 and then scored 102 off 45 balls against India at Kanpur in 2005.

The third and final ODI will be played at the same venue on Thursday before the teams will meet in a three-match T20 series.

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

Zimbabwe's Blessing Muzarabani bowls during the second ODI cricket match between Zimbabwe and Pakistan at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Wonder Mashura)

Zimbabwe's Dion Myers, left, in front of Pakistan's wicket keeper Mohammad Rizwan, right, during the second ODI cricket match between Zimbabwe and Pakistan at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Wonder Mashura)

Zimbabwe's Craig Ervine, left, at the wicket as Pakistan's wicket keeper Mohammad Rizwan catches the ball, during the second ODI cricket match between Zimbabwe and Pakistan, at Queens Sports Club, in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Wonder Mashura)

Zimbabwe's Tadiwanashe Marumani, left, leaves the field during the second ODI cricket match between Zimbabwe and Pakistan at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Wonder Mashura)

Pakistan's Aamer Jamal bowls during during the second ODI cricket match between Zimbabwe and Pakistan at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Wonder Mashura)

Zimbabwe's Tadiwanashe Marumani, back, reaches for the crease in front of Pakistan's wicket keeper during the second ODI cricket match between Zimbabwe and Pakistan at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Wonder Mashura)

Pakistan's Saim Ayub and Abdullah Shafique hug each other during the second ODI cricket match between Zimbabwe and Pakistan at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Wonder Mashura)

Pakistan's Saim Ayub in action during the second ODI cricket match between Zimbabwe and Pakistan at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Wonder Mashura)

Adversity finds every team in the NBA at some point. Somebody is going to get injured or sick, guaranteed. How those stretches are handled can make or break a season.

Orlando and San Antonio are finding a way right now.

New Orleans and Philadelphia are among the teams that aren't.

The Magic have gone 9-1 in their last 10 games, all without an injured Paolo Banchero — the team's best player and an All-Star last season. They are behind only Cleveland and Boston, another pair of teams that haven't let injury issues keep them from sizzling starts, in the Eastern Conference. The Spurs have gone 7-5 since Gregg Popovich had a stroke that left assistant coach Mitch Johnson serving as acting coach.

Those two teams might be the best examples early on of how not to let adversity impede winning.

“Mitch is really smart, great teammate in the coaches room," said Golden State coach Steve Kerr, a close friend of Popovich and someone who spent time with Johnson through USA Basketball in recent summers — including camps in Las Vegas before the 2023 World Cup and this year's Paris Olympics. "He was a big part of all of our conversations pre- and post-practice. He’s a really good coach, good guy. I know Pop loves him and feels very strongly what a good coach he is."

It's showing. The last time the Spurs — who have also been without starting forward Jeremy Sochan in recent weeks and played a couple games without star center Victor Wembanyama — had a better record through 17 games was in the 2017-18 season.

Johnson has done an impressive job of holding things together through a tough time.

“You look across the league, there’s a lot of injuries and guys out, so it’s just something where you’re trying to prepare everybody and it’s the next man up," Johnson said. "But it’s nice to see everybody embrace that, not only for themselves but for their teammates.”

The Magic, predictably, went through a struggle phase after Banchero got hurt: They started 0-4 without him, losing those games by an average of 14.3 points. And then Franz Wagner — who should be headed to San Francisco for the All-Star Game — took an enormous leap forward, averaging 27.6 points in his last 11 games.

“I think he’s found another level of confidence, and we need it,” Magic forward Jonathan Isaac said. “You know, obviously with Paolo going down, he’s stepped up and he recognizes what this team needs. We need him to be aggressive and just score the basketball. I think he’s just stepped into that role, and he’s been dominant, he’s been confident, and doing his thing.”

The Magic have made playing without a star look easy. It's not. Take the Phoenix Suns — they're 8-1 with Kevin Durant, 1-6 without him. Durant is probable to return Tuesday night from a calf strain when the Suns take on the Los Angeles Lakers.

Memphis is an example of weathering the storm: The Grizzlies went 5-3 in Ja Morant's eight-game absence that ended Monday night.

The Pelicans aren't missing just one big name. They've been decimated by injuries: Dejounte Murray missed his 17th game Monday night with a broken left hand and three other Pelicans — Zion Williamson, CJ McCollum and Herb Jones — have all missed at least 12 games while being hurt. It's why New Orleans is 4-14, one of the worst starts in the league.

“We're going to figure it out, and fight and claw like we normally do,” Pelicans forward Trey Murphy said.

The 76ers say they'll do the same, but they've been missing plenty of their best fighters — with Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, Paul George and Kyle Lowry among those all missing time because of injury.

The result is a 3-13 start, the second-worst record in the NBA. The only silver lining for Philadelphia right now is that it's in the East, where only four teams have winning records right now.

“We're 16 games in. It's a long season," Maxey said. “Either we're going to lay down and let teams come in here and have field days against us, or we're going to go out there and play with some pride and go out there and win some games.

“We get it,” he added. "I got hurt. Jo got hurt. Kyle got hurt. P got hurt. Guys are in and out of the lineup. Yes, we understand that. That's not ideal. But all of us can do one thing every single night, 1 through 15, go out there, know the game plan and play extremely hard, every single night.”

Such is the adversity part. The Spurs and Magic seem to have figured it out. The Pelicans and 76ers are among those still searching for answers.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

San Antonio Spurs acting head coach Mitch Johnson, right, speaks with Spurs players Victor Wembanyama (1) and Stephon Castle (5) during the second half of their NBA basketball game against the Golden State Warriors, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)

San Antonio Spurs acting head coach Mitch Johnson yells to his players during the first half of an Emirates NBA Cup basketball game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)

Orlando Magic forward Franz Wagner celebrates a made 3-point basket against the Phoenix Suns during the second half of an NBA basketball game Monday, Nov. 18, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Orlando Magic forward Franz Wagner (22) celebrates with Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley, right, in the closing moments of the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Phoenix Suns, Monday, Nov. 18, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)