Wahab Riaz
Wahab Riaz's 54 down the order helped Pakistan post a total of 235 runs against Zimbabwe [Getty]

In a close encounter, Pakistan defeated Zimbabwe to seal their first win in a Group B clash of the 2015 ICC World Cup in Brisbane on Sunday.

The victory was the Asian side's first win of the tournament and they will be hoping that this will kick start their World Cup campaign in the remaining three fixtures.

Pakistan registered a victory by 20 runs after Zimbabwe were bowled out for 215 runs, with two balls to spare.

Misbah-ul-Haq won the toss and elected to bat. The African nation started the match on a brighter note as their bowlers controlled the game from the first over. Both the Pakistan openers were sent back to the pavilion before the end of the fourth over and they managed to score just 14 runs in the first 10 overs, losing two wickets in the process.

Misbah and Haris Sohail put up a decent partnership, before the latter was dismissed for 27. The captain was joined by Umar Akmal for a while and he managed 33 runs. He was bowled by Sean Williams and Akmal was followed by Shahid Afrid for a duck.

Wahab Riaz then came in to bat and remained unbeaten on 54, which helped Pakistan reach a total of 235 runs for the loss of seven wickets in 50 overs.

In reply, Zimbabwe also lost two quick wickets as Mohammed Irfan dismissed their openers cheaply. Hamilton Masakadza and Brendan Taylor put on a brilliant partnership of 106 runs, before Masakadza threw away his wicket, again it was Irfan who did the damage.

Taylor and Sean Williams then tried to steady their innings and kept the score board ticking. But both were dismissed before the batting Powerplay and Zimbabwe struggled, losing three quick wickets.

Elton Chigumbura tried in vain to seal a second win in their world cup campaing, but good bowling from Pakistan helped them win their first win in the tournament. Riaz and Irfan picked up four wickets each. Riaz's all round performance resulted in him being named the Man of the Match.

Zimbabwe next face Ireland on 7 March, while Pakistan face UAE on Wednesday.

ICC World Cup 2015
Pakistan Zimbabwe