After winning the three-match ODI series against Zimbabwe, Afghanistan started the T20 series with a stunning victory. Today, the Afghans beat Zimbabwe by six wickets at the Harare Cricket Stadium. At a point, it seemed the Afghans were losing the match. But, Najibullah Zadran played an impressive innings at the last moment to defeat the home team.
Match Details
The three-match T20 series between Afghanistan and Zimbabwe started today. Craig Ervine, the skipper of Zimbabwe, won the toss and decided to bat first. So, Wesley Madhevere came off the pitch along with Innocent Kaia to start the innings for Zimbabwe. Unfortunately, they couldn’t build a long partnership.
Innocent Kaia lost the wicket to Fazalhaq Farooqi in the 3rd over. He scored only six runs before his departure. After that, Wesley Madhevere tried to build up a partnership with the skipper. They added 30 runs on that wicket. But, the captain couldn’t stay longer. He had to go back to the pavilion after scoring only nine runs.
Moreover, Wesley Madhevere also lost his wicket after a few overs. Before losing the wicket, he scored 32 runs for the team. In addition, Sikandar Raza added 45 runs in the lower order. The remaining batsmen couldn’t score many runs. As a result, Zimbabwe ended their innings with 159 runs.
Afghanistan got a flying start in chasing down the target. Hazratullah Zazai and Rahmanullah Gurbaz, the two openers of the visitors, started the innings brilliantly. Both players started hitting from the very early of the match. Together they added 83 runs in the opening partnership. But, their partnership broke when Rahmanullah Gurbaz lost his wicket in the 11th over. Before losing the wicket, Gurbaz added 33 runs on the scoreboard.
However, Afghanistan lost two more wickets in a short time. It looked like Zimbabwe could defeat Afghanistan. But Hazratullah Zazai kept scoring runs. Before his departure, Zazai scored the highest 45 runs for the team. Moreover, Najibullah Zadran added a twist in the lower order. He scored a stunning 44 off 25 balls only to win the match.
Score Card
Zimbabwe: 159/8 (20 Overs)
Afghanistan: 160/4 (19.2 Overs)
