(ESPNCRICINFO) – THIS was, by far, the most competitive match of the series. Pakistan won it by 131 runs.

That these two statements stand together without contradiction is the best indicator of the manner in which it has gone. Utterly bereft of competitive edge or even the prospect of it, Pakistan have reigned supreme all series. Nothing that happened today changed that, except Zimbabwe seemed to accept the fact, and, having set a target of 365 on the back of tons from Babar Azam and Imam-ul-Haq, didn’t even bother chasing it. Instead, they used it as an opportunity to give themselves batting practice against one of the fiercest bowling line-ups in world cricket, and as they trudged to 233 for four by the end of their 50 overs, they could at least claim success on that front.

Hamilton Masakadza and Tinashe Kamunhukamwe began solidly, trying to play themselves into touch. While they got regular boundaries, they were never able to rotate the strike effectively, and the innings took on a pattern of block-or-bash. Indeed, throughout their innings, Zimbabwe struck more sixes than Pakistan (nine compared to six), which illustrated the point that there’s more to a huge chase than looking for release shots every other over.

The pair put on 66 for the opening wicket; two thirds of the runs came in boundaries. One wicket spawned another, though, and when Kamunhukamwe failed to get underneath a short ball from Mohammad Nawaz, short midwicket took a sharp catch. Two balls later, Hasan Ali castled Masakadza, sending middle and off stump gloriously cartwheeling away, and Zimbabwe had two new batsmen at the crease again.

Ryan Murray, perhaps the brightest spot for Zimbabwe this series, built another solid partnership with Prince Masvaure. By then, the match was completely a training session, and even Sarfraz, ever audible behind the stumps, remarked he thought the pair wanted to bat the full 50 overs. Pakistan weren’t the best in the field today, no less than four catches were put down – three of them tough chances – which meant the game ended up being much longer than it might have.