The vice-captain of the side, Ibrahim Zadran, stood up when it mattered most at the top of the order as his unbeaten 70 laid the platform for the evening. Ibrahim Zadran was like a rock out there in the middle as he anchored the chase home. But before that, an all-round bowling display led by Rashid Khan’s 3-wicket haul and others like Mohammad Nabi and Fazalhaq Farooqi getting 2 wickets apiece, while Sikandar Raza led from the front with his solo half-century, and he is fighting it out for the Chevrons after being bowled out for 169 in 43.3 overs.
In reply, Afghanistan rode on a stellar innings from vice-captain Ibrahim Zadran as his composed unbeaten 70 alongside captain Rahmat Shah’s 43 went a long way in Afghanistan winning the match by 7 wickets. Zimbabwe bowlers tried as much as they could, but they were never in the game and lost tamely towards the end as the Afghans lifted the cup.
All-round bowling performance led by Rashid Khan’s 3-wicket haul skittles Zimbabwe out for 169 in 43.3 overs
Winning the toss and deciding to bat first, Brian Bennett and Tadiwanashe Marumani came out to open the batting for Zimbabwe while Fazalhaq Farooqi had the new ball in hand for Afghanistan. The openers tried to give the team a steady start as the duo put on 22 runs inside 5 overs before Marumani was the first to depart for 12 off 11 balls with one four to his name, to Fazalhaq Farooqi, who cleaned him up. Tafadzwa Tsiga came out to bat next. The duo added 4 more runs to the tally before Bennett, the other opener, fell for 9 off 21 balls with 2 fours to his name to Azmatullah Omarzai.
Keeper batter Brendan Taylor came out to bat next. The score stayed at 26 before Tsiga fell for 4 off 8 balls with one four to his name to Farooqi. Captain Sikandar Raza came out to bat next. The two experienced campaigners then started to forge a partnership to help Zimbabwe claw their way back a bit. They put on 29 runs for the 4th wicket before Taylor fell for 7 off 11 balls to Bilal Sami. Ryan Burl came out to bat next. Raza and Burl stemmed the momentum and defied Afghanistan.
The duo started to help the Chevrons come back into the match. They went through the gears in the middle overs and put on 60 runs for the 5th wicket before Burl fell after getting a start for 31 off 45 balls with 2 fours to his name to Mohammad Nabi. Wessly Madhevere came out to bat next. Just 10 runs were added to the score before Madhevere fell for 3 off 6 balls to Nabi yet again. Brad Evans came out to bat next.
Just 3 runs were added to the score before Evans perished for 1 off 7 balls to Rashid Khan. Newman Nyamhuri came out to bat next. Zimbabwe were now 128/7 in 30 overs. Just two runs were added to the tally as Newman fell for a 5th-ball duck to Rashid, who cleaned him up. Wellington Masakadza came out to bat next. Sikandar Raza, on the other hand, had crossed his half-century and was holding the fort for the Chevrons. Once again, he was fighting a lone battle. Raza and Wellington added 7 runs to the score before Raza, the big fish, fell for 68 off 83 balls with 3 fours and 3 sixes to his name to Rashid.
Blessing Muzarabani came out to bat next, and the Chevrons were in trouble at 137/9 in 33.4 overs. To be fair to Zimbabwe, Muzarabani and Masakadza frustrated the Afghans as the tail wagged for the Zimbabwe team. Wellington hung in there while Blessing played his shots and got into double figures. The last-wicket duo of Masakadza and Muzarabani added 32 runs off 59 balls before Masakadza fell for 8 off 25 balls to Bilal Sami. Muzarabani remained unbeaten on 17 off 39 balls with one four and one six to his name as Zimbabwe were bowled out for 169 in 43.3 overs. 9 extras were given by the fielding side.
It was a fine all-round bowling display by Afghanistan. Rashid Khan led the way and was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 3/41 in 10 overs. He was ably supported by Mohammad Nabi, who finished with 2/25 in 10 overs. Fazalhaq Farooqi started things off and finished with 2/41 in 7 overs. Bilal Sami finished with 2/27 in 5.3 overs. Azmatullah Omarzai finished with 1/6 in 5 overs. Allah Ghazanfar finished with 0/24 in 6 overs. This meant that the target for Afghanistan was 170 runs to win off 50 overs to win the tri-series final.
Ibrahim Zadran’s composed unbeaten half-century takes Afghanistan over the line with ease
Chasing 170 for the win, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran came out to open the batting for Afghanistan while Blessing Muzarabani had the ball in hand for Zimbabwe. The openers gave the Afghans a flying, solid start in the powerplay. Ibrahim was the initial aggressor of the two, while Gurbaz came into his own after settling into the crease. The opening duo put on 68 runs inside the first 10 overs before Gurbaz fell for 36 off 31 balls with 4 fours and 2 sixes to his name to Newman Nyamhuri. Sediqullah Atal came out to bat next.
Afghanistan reached 72/1 in 10 overs and were in pole position to win the contest from here. Ibrahim and Atal added 12 runs for the second wicket before Atal fell for 6 off 12 balls, with one four to his name to Nyamhuri. Captain Rahmat Shah came out to bat next. The duo of Ibrahim and Rahmat got their eyes in a little bit as the senior duo had enough time with no pressure of the run rate.
Ibrahim was composed as ever, and so was Rahmat as the duo went about doing their work in this phase and put on a match-winning stand for the 3rd-wicket stand. The captain showed his class and composure out in the middle. The duo added 82 runs for the 3rd wicket before the captain, Rahmat, fell for a well-made 43 off 63 balls with one four and one six to his name. Hashmatullah Shahidi came out to bat next. At this stage, the Indians needed a mere 8 runs to win the contest.
Shahidi did his bit with 8 runs required as he got 7 runs, as the Afghans showed their class with Ibrahim holding his nerve at the other end. Shahidi and Ibrahim added the remaining 8 runs off 10 balls unbeaten as Afghanistan got over the line with a 7-wicket win with 15.3 overs left. Ibrahim remained unbeaten on 70 off 96 balls with 4 fours and one six to his name, while Shahidi remained unbeaten on 7 off 5 balls with one four to his name as Afghanistan finished with 170/3 in 34.3 overs to win by 7 wickets. 8 extras were given by the fielding side.
From Zimbabwe’s point of view, Newman Nyamhuri was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 2/30 in 6 overs. Wessly Madhevere finished with 1/8 in 1.3 overs. Blessing Muzarabani finished with 0/23 in 6 overs. Brad Evans finished with 0/42 in 6 overs. Wellington Masakadza finished with 0/29 in 6 overs. Ryan Burl finished with 0/19 in 6 overs. Captain Sikandar Raza gave away 17 runs in the 3 overs he bowled. So, Afghanistan won comprehensively by 7 wickets with 15.3 overs left to lift the trophy. Ibrahim Zadran was adjudged the Player of the Match while Rashid Khan was awarded the Player of the Series.
So, with this, the Tri-series featuring Afghanistan, Zimbabwe, and Bangladesh came to an end in the UAE. Bangladesh has gone back home early after faltering, and now they will host the West Indies in Test matches and ODIs soon, while Afghanistan and Zimbabwe will now play in 2 Test matches and a few T20Is to look forward to as a viewer. So, lots to look forward to for all of us going forward as cricketing action is set to peak now.
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