Cricket-Pakistan win toss, opt to bat against Zimbabwe at Gabba

BRISBANE, March 1 (Reuters) - Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq won the toss and opted to bat first in their crucial World Cup Pool B match against Zimbabwe at the Gabba in Brisbane on Sunday. The 1992 champions have lost their last two matches against India and West Indies and need to get their campaign back on track with a win against the African side. "It's good to have a total on the board and under lights in Australia we have been noticing that once you get a good total on the board it's not easy to chase it down," Misbah said after winning the toss. Senior batsman Younus Khan, who has struggled for runs of late, has been dropped from the Pakistan side and replaced by left-arm fast bowler Rahat Ali. "It's really important for us this game because we lost the first two games," Misbah added. "Just really want to win a game here and start to play well." Zimbabwe, who lost to South Africa and West Indies but had a win against minnows United Arab Emirates, made three changes to their line-up from the loss to West Indies. They dropped batsmen Regis Chakabva and Stuart Matsikenyeri as well as leg-spinner Tafadzwa Kamungozi and brought in opener Chamu Chibhabha and pace duo Solomon Mire and Tawanda Mupariwa. The Zimbabwe bowlers gave away 152 runs in the last 10 overs against the Caribbean side and captain Elton Chigumbura said the team have worked on their mistakes. "I think today is going to be a bit better. I believe we have worked out and hopefully we can execute today," Chigumbura said. Teams: Pakistan: Ahmed Shehzad, Nasir Jamshed, Haris Sohail, Misbah (captain), Sohaib Maqsood, Umar Akmal, Shahid Afridi, Wahab Riaz, Sohail Khan, Rahat, Mohammad Irfan Zimbabwe: Chamu Chibhabha, Sikandar Raza, Hamilton Masakadza, Brendan Taylor, Sean Williams, Craig Ervine, Chigumbura (captain), Solomon Mire, Tawanda Mupariwa, Tinashe Panyangara, Tendai Chatara (Reporting by Sudipto Ganguly in Mumbai; editing by Nick Mulvenney)