Rashid Khan’s stellar all-round show helped Afghanistan draw first blood in this T20I series against Zimbabwe at Sharjah. Rashid Khan was at his best as he first scored 30 off 10 balls with the bat to provide the finish while the likes of Ahmadzai and Kamal contributed more with the former scoring a blitsy half-century while Kamal made 46 runs. Rashid’s heroics ensured they made 177 in 19.5 overs.
In reply, Rashid Khan picked up 2/20 in 4 overs and was part of an all-round bowling performance by the Afghanistan team. Fazalhaq Farooqi picked up 3 wickets while the others chipped in as well. Rashid was the star as he picked up 2 wickets in the second innings and provided the finishing kick as well. This helped Afghanistan draw first blood in the series.
Ijaz Ahmad Ahmadzai’s blistering half-century helps Afghanistan recover and post 177 in 19.5 overs.Â
Put into bat first, keeper batter Ramanullah Gurbaz and captain Ibrahim Zadran came out to open the batting for Afghanistan while Newman Nyamhuri had the new ball in hand for Zimbabwe. The openers could put on 11 runs for the first wicket before Ibrahim fell for 5 off 6 balls with one four to his name to Brad Evans. Sediqullah Atal came out to bat next. Just 3 runs were added to the score before Atal fell for 2 off 2 balls to Ernest Masuku. Mohammad Akram Zazai came out to bat next.
Just 4 runs were added to the score before Zazai fell for 4 off 2 balls with one four to his name to Masuku. Shahidulah Kamal came out to bat next. Afghanistan were in a spot of bother at 18/3 in 3 overs. Gurbaz and Kamal tried to forge a partnership as the power play score was 31/3 in 6 overs. The duo added 27 runs for the 4th wicket before Gurbaz fell for 18 off 21 balls with 2 fours to his name as it was a struggle for him out there. Azmatuallah Omarzai came out to bat next.
Kamal was in his elements as he managed to add 21 runs for the 5th wicket before Omarzai fell for 7 off 8 balls to Sikandar Raza. Ijaz Ahmad Ahmadzai came out to bat next as the Afghans were reeling at 66/5 in 11.2 overs. Afghanistan had work to do when Kamal and Ahmadzai got together in the 12th over. The duo counter-attacked and aced the middle phase that was left and took us into the death overs phase.
The duo put on an important 57-run stand for the 6th wicket before Kamal fell for 46 off 42 balls with 2 fours and 3 sixes to his name to Newman Nyamhuri. Rashid Khan came out to bat next and meant business in the end overs. Ahmadzai and Rashid took the attack to the Chevrons and added 23 runs for the 7th wicket before Ahmadzai fell for a breath-taking 52 runs off 22 balls with 4 fours and 4 sixes to his name. Noor Ahmad came out to bat next.
Rashid was the dominant partner with Noor and added 18 runs for the 8th wicket with Rashid in full flow. Rashid finally fell for a blitzy 31 off 10 balls with one four and 4 sixes to his name to Nyamhuri. Mujeeb Ur Rahman came out to bat next. Just one run was added to the score before Noor fell for 6 off 4 balls with one four to his name to Nyamhuri. Fazalhaq Farooqi came out to bat next. Just 2 runs were added to the score when Mujeeb fell for 1 off 2 balls to Nyamhuri.
Farooqi remained unbeaten on 0 off 0 balls as Afghanistan were bowled out for 177 in 19.5 overs with 6 extras given by the fielding side. For Zimbabwe, Newman Nyamhuri was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 4/21 in 3.5 overs. Brad Evans chipped in with 2/34 in 4 overs. Ernest Masuku finished with 2/41 in 4 overs. Sikandar Raza finished with 1/33 in 4 overs while Wellington Masakadza finished with 1/38 in 4 overs. This meant that the target for Zimbabwe was 178 runs to win off 20 overs to take a 1-0 lead in the 3-match T20I series.
All-round bowling display led by Fazalhaq Farooqi’s 3-wicket haul restricts Zimbabwe to 140 in 19.1 overs.Â
Chasing 178 for the win, Brian Bennett and Ben Curran came out to open the batting for Zimbabwe while Fazalhaq Farooqi had the new ball in hand for Afghanistan. The opening duo could add just 12 runs to the score before Curran fell for 7 off 8 balls with one four to his name to Fazalhaq Farooqi. Innocent Kaia came out to bat next. Kaia and Bennett tried to forge a partnership and took the power play score to 38/1 in 6 overs which was better than Afghanistan’s score.
The duo of Bennett and Curran put on 36 runs for the second wicket before Kaia fell for 24 off 26 balls with 2 fours to his name to Rashid Khan who cleaned him up. Ryan Burl walked out to bat next. Burl and Bennett added 8 runs to the score before Bennett the set batter fell for 13 off 18 balls to Mujeeb Ur Rahman who cleaned him up. Captain Sikandar Raza came out to bat next.
Burl and Raza tried to stabilise the Chevrons, but the required rate was climbing up. Burl rode his luck as he was dropped by Farooqi in the deep off Rashid. They tried to hit some lusty blows. The duo played through the middle overs and put on 38 runs for the 4th wicket before captain Raza fell for 17 off 13 balls with one four and one six to his name to Mujeeb. Keeper batter Tadiwanashe Marumani came out to bat next.
Marumani and Burl added 13 runs to the score and took the team past 100 before Marumani fell for 7 off 6 balls with one four to his name to Rashid Khan. Wessly Madhevere came out to bat next. Just 4 runs were added to the score before Burl the set batter fell for 32 off 24 balls with 2 sixes to his name to Farooqi. Brad Evans came out to bat next while Madhevere played his shots out there.
The duo added 16 runs for the 7th wicket before Madhevere fell for 17 off 8 balls with one four and one six to his name to Shahidullah Kamal. Newman Nyamhuri came out to bat next. The rest of the batting fell like a pack of cards. Just 5 runs were added to the score when Evans fell for 4 off 6 balls to Azmatullah Omarzai. Ernest Masuku came out to bat next. The score stayed at 132 as Masuku fell first ball for a golden duck to Omarzai. Wellington Masakadza came out to bat next.
Masakadza hit a maximum as well. The last wicket pair added 8 runs to the score before Nyamhuri was the last man out for 2 off 3 balls to Farooqi. Wellington remained unbeaten on 7 off 2 balls with a six to his name as Zimbabwe were bowled out for 140 in 19.1 overs. 10 extras given by Afghanistan.
The Afghanistan bowlers put in a disciplined bowling display. Fazalhaq Farooqi was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 3/13 in 3.1 overs. Rashid Khan chipped in with 2/20 in 4 overs. Mujeeb Ur Rahman chipped in with 2/27 in 4 overs. Azmatullah Omarzai chipped in with 2/39 in 4 overs. Shahidullah Kamal chipped in with 1/12 in 1 over. Noor Ahmad finished with 0/28 in 3 overs. So, Afghanistan beat Zimbabwe by 37 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the 3-match T20I series. Rashid Khan for his all-round show was awarded the Player of the Match award.
What Lies Ahead.Â
So, Afghanistan has drawn first blood in this 3-match T20I series. They lead 1-0 and would like to make it 2-0 when the two teams meet on Thursday night i.e. 29th October, 2026 at Sharjah from 8 PM IST. Zimbabwe will aim to bounce back and level the series to force a decider on Sunday. Let’s see how things unfold in Sharjah on Thursday night.
Also Read: AFG vs ZIM: Ibrahim Zadran’s Classy Half-Century Shocks Zimbabwe