Afghanistan VS Zimbabwe Match ball by ball Commentary
AFG294/10
—ZIM
Zimbabwe need 295 runs in 300 balls at 5.9 rpo
ICC ODI Team's Ranking
| RANK | COUNTRY | POINTS | RATING |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | India | 4122 | 115 |
| 2 | New Zealand | 3809 | 109 |
| 3 | South Africa | 3547 | 104 |
| 4 | Australia | 3568 | 102 |
| 5 | Pakistan | 3360 | 102 |
| 6 | England | 3235 | 95 |
| 7 | Sri Lanka | 3752 | 94 |
| 8 | Afghanistan | 2565 | 92 |
| 9 | Bangladesh | 3262 | 82 |
| 10 | West Indies | 2924 | 79 |
| 11 | Zimbabwe | 1229 | 65 |
| 12 | Ireland | 815 | 51 |
| 13 | Scotland | 1260 | 45 |
| 14 | Netherlands | 1309 | 44 |
| 15 | USA | 1228 | 41 |
| 16 | Namibia | 836 | 32 |
| 17 | Nepal | 1034 | 29 |
| 18 | Oman | 652 | 24 |
| 19 | United Arab Emirates | 433 | 14 |
| 20 | Canada | 307 | 12 |
Ibrahim Zadran, Afghanistan batter -
Ernest leads Zimbabwe fightback - Ernest Masuku and Brad Evans were the pick of the bowlers for Zimbabwe, delivering brilliant spells under pressure to finish with crucial figures of 3 wickets each. Blessing Muzarabani also chipped in with two scalps but proved to be a touch expensive, while the veteran Sikandar Raza claimed one wicket, leaving Zimbabwe with a steep but manageable chase ahead.
Atal and Ibrahim stars with the bat - Sediqullah Atal was the undisputed star of the Afghan innings, playing a sensational, anchor-defining knock to smash a brilliant 102 runs. He found terrific support from Ibrahim Zadran, who anchored the innings beautifully but was unluckily dismissed for 90, missing out on a well-deserved century by just 10 runs. Following their dismissals, the rest of the Afghanistan middle and lower-order chipped in with handy, brief cameos to ensure the momentum was not lost, successfully pushing the final score to 293. They'll still feel that they have left a few in the field.
Afghanistan set an imposing target after Atal's ton - Afghanistan have posted a good enough total of 293 runs on the board after 50 overs, leaving skipper Rahmat Shah satisfied after he decided to bat first. Openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran provided a solid platform, putting on 50 runs for the first wicket before Gurbaz was cleaned up by an excellent delivery from Ernest Masuku. Ibrahim Zadran then found an exceptional partner in Sediqullah Atal, and the duo completely dominated the Zimbabwean bowling attack with a mammoth 140-run partnership for the second wicket, laying a flawless foundation for a massive total.
OUT! ZIAUR IS RUN OUT! Full by Evans, around the off stump. Rahman stays deep inside the crease and clears the front leg. Heaves it off the inner half of the bat to deep mid-wicket and they push hard for the second run. But Wessly Madhevere is quick to attack the ball from the deep and unleashes a flat throw to the batting end, where Ziaur is backing up too far. Brendan Taylor collects the throw by standing beside the stumps and dislodges the bails in a flash. Afghanistan are bowled out on 294 after 50 overs.
Bashes the length hard, outside off, Ziaur swings the bat like a rusty gate, but fails to get any sort of connection. This is proving to be a superb final over for Zimbabwe.
Back of a length, angled down leg. Farooqi shifts across and attempts the pull, only to miss. The keeper, Taylor, spills it to his left, gifting away a bye.
Swing and a miss! Short of a length and around off. Farooqi looks to pull but gets beaten due to the extra bounce.
Fazalhaq Farooqi is the last batter in for Afghanistan.
OUT! CAUGHT BY SIKANDAR! Evans continues to have a productive tri-series with the ball. A four-for against Bangladesh and now a three-wicket haul. Bowls a full delivery, outside off, Nabi clears the front leg and attempts to thump it over long off, but the ball gets sliced off the toe end. As a result, Nabi gets more height than distance. Raza runs in a few steps from long off and almost misjudges the trajectory, but takes a fine catch in the end. Afghanistan are 292/9, with four balls left.