Sharjah: Afghanistan took a 1-0 lead in their three-match T20I series against Zimbabwe with a comfortable 37-run win in the opener at Sharjah, built on a blistering rescue act from Ijaz Ahmad Ahmadzai and a match-winning all-round display from captain Rashid Khan.
Zimbabwe, who won the toss and chose to bowl, had Afghanistan in deep trouble early on a slow, grippy surface. The top order crumbled in the powerplay and by the 12th over Afghanistan were 66 for 5, with the innings going nowhere. Ahmadzai changed the game on his own. Batting, as one report put it, on a different pitch to everyone else, he reached his fifty in just 20 balls and finished with 52 off 22 balls, striking four fours and four sixes.
Shahidullah Kamal gave him the support the innings needed, making a steady 46 off 42 balls, and the pair’s rapid stand dragged Afghanistan back into the contest. Rashid then provided the late surge, smashing 30 off just 10 balls with four sixes as Afghanistan were bowled out for 177 with one ball to spare — a total that looked well beyond Zimbabwe on a surface that stayed slow all evening.
Zimbabwe’s chase never got going. Ryan Burl top-scored with 32, but the visitors kept losing wickets against Afghanistan’s varied attack and were dismissed for 140 in 19.1 overs. Fazalhaq Farooqi was the pick of the bowlers with 3 for 13, Rashid backed up his batting with 2 for 20, and Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Azmatullah Omarzai took two wickets each. Newman Nyamhuri had earlier been Zimbabwe’s best bowler with 4 for 31, but his effort was undone by the late assault he could do nothing to stop.
Rashid was named player of the match for his 30 off 10 and 2 for 20. The result extended Afghanistan’s dominance in the format against Zimbabwe to a 20-2 head-to-head record, and it was a reminder of how dangerous this Afghanistan side remains in conditions that suit their spin-heavy attack, even when their batting misfires at the top.
The second T20I of the series will be played on October 29, again in the UAE, with Zimbabwe needing a win to keep the series alive.
Brief scores: Afghanistan 177 all out in 19.5 overs (Ahmadzai 52, Shahidullah 46, Rashid 30; Nyamhuri 4-31) beat Zimbabwe 140 all out in 19.1 overs (Burl 32; Farooqi 3-13, Rashid 2-20) by 37 runs.
