THE ghosts of Perth almost returned to haunt Pakistan on Tuesday night.
For an hour of madness under the lights at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Zimbabwe held the game by the throat and threatened to produce another famous upset against the Asian giants.
Brad Evans charged in with fire to rip through the Pakistan top order and silence the home crowd, but the hosts eventually clawed their way back to steal a victory by five wickets in the T20I Tri Series clash.
While the scorecard ultimately favoured Pakistan, the narrative belonged to a Zimbabwe side that dominated the first half of the evening before a painful collapse let their opponents escape.
The Chevrons started with a blaze of optimism. Brian Bennett and Tadiwanashe Marumani opened for Zimbabwe after Pakistan captain Salman Agha sent them in to bat.
Bennett looked imperious from the first ball.
He punished anything short and drove with elegance to race to 49 runs off 36 balls. The young opener struck eight boundaries and dismantled the Pakistan pace attack inside the powerplay.
Marumani matched his intensity with three fours and a towering six as the pair put on 72 runs for the first wicket.
At that stage, a total nearing 180 looked certain. Then came the stumble. Saim Ayub dismissed Bennett just one run short of his milestone and the momentum shifted violently.
That wicket sparked a collapse that undid all the early hard work. Veteran Brendan Taylor ran himself out for 14 while Ryan Burl chipped a simple catch to Babar Azam shortly after.
The middle order vanished in a hurry as the visitors lost eight wickets for just 75 runs in the second half of the innings. Captain Sikandar Raza stood firm among the ruins to score an unbeaten 34 and drag the total to 147 for eight.
Defending a modest total required early strikes and Evans delivered them in spectacular fashion. The Zimbabwean bowler castled Sahibzada Farhan for 16 and then produced the moment of the match three balls later.
Evans trapped Babar Azam leg before wicket for a duck. The Pakistani batter reviewed the decision in desperation but the umpire stood vindicated. When Tinotenda Maposa removed Salman Agha for one, Pakistan tottered at 30 for three inside powerplay.
The required rate climbed as Saim Ayub struggled to find rhythm and Graeme Cremer ended his misery to leave Pakistan precariously placed at 54 for four.
Zimbabwe sensed a historic victory but Fakhar Zaman calmed the local nerves. The left-hander struck 44 runs and shared a vital stand with Usman Khan to stabilise the chase.
Zimbabwe fought until the very end but Mohammad Nawaz ended their resistance. The Player of the Match smashed 21 runs from 12 balls to kill the contest with four balls remaining.
