NEW DELHI: Mystery spinner Usman Tariq produced a hat-trick to fire Pakistan into the final of the T20 tri-series with a commanding 69-run victory over Zimbabwe.

Tariq ran through the Zimbabwe batting order with a sensational spell of 4 for 18, helping bundle out the opposition for 126 in 19 overs. Although Ryan Burl fought a lone battle with an unbeaten 67 off 49 deliveries and added 44 runs for the final wicket, it wasn't enough to keep Zimbabwe alive in the contest.

Earlier, Pakistan set a strong total of 195 for 5 after being put in to bat by captain Salman Ali Agha. Babar Azam led the scoring with a fluent 74, while Sahibzada Farhan provided solid support with a well-compiled 63. In the closing stages, Fakhar Zaman accelerated the innings by hammering 27 off just 10 balls to give Pakistan valuable late momentum.

Zimbabwe's chase unraveled quickly as Pakistan's pace attack struck inside the powerplay, reducing them to 25 for 3. And once Tariq entered the attack, the middle order had no answers to his deceptive variations, allowing Pakistan to secure their third straight win of the series and seal a place in the final.

Tariq had Tony Munyonga caught at short fine leg, and clean bowled Tashinga Musekiwa. Babar then caught Wellington Masakadza at mid-off to give the off-spinner his hat-trick as Zimbabwe slumped from 60-4 to 60-7 in the 10th over.

Tariq, playing in only his second T20 since making his debut against South Africa earlier this month, became the fourth Pakistan bowler to take a T20 hat-trick after Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Hasnain and Mohammad Nawaz. He capped his perfect night at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium when he bowled Tinotenda Maposa with a perfect googly.

"There's a big process behind my (bowling) action," Tariq said. "I need to take care of pace and spin variations. I wasn't expecting a big shot on the hat-trick ball, thanks to the batter."

Century stand Babar and Farhan dominated Zimbabwe's spinners and pace in their 103-run stand for the second wicket after Saim Ayub (13) was dismissed by Brad Evans in the third over.

Farhan, who hit a career-best unbeaten 80 against Sri Lanka on Saturday, raised his second successive half century off 35 balls and Babar pushed the scoring rate after scoring a run-a-ball 34, but got his next 40 runs off just 18 deliveries.

Skipper Sikandar Raza (2-39) dismissed both batters in the death overs. Farhan was bowled by a delivery that skidded through and then Babar holed out while going for a big hit.

Zaman, who batted at No. 7, smashed Evans for three sixes and a boundary in a 25-run last over to give Pakistan a perfect finish.

"I thought apart from the last over, it was a typical Pindi wicket," Raza said. "If you're not ahead of the game, teams will find you out ... the manner we've played spin we can't carry on like that. We'll help each other out and find our feet."

(With AP Inputs)