Azmatullah Omarzai showed up when his team was in dire needs at one stage. Put into bat, Afghanistan were 5/4 and 38/5 at one stage. But they remarkably recovered from a dire situation to help Afghanistan post 221/7 in 20 overs. Omarzai was the star with the bat with his marvellous ton while Ahmadzai made 52 off 27 balls, Rashid Khan made 25 off 6 balls. Afghanistan recovered to get to 221/7 in 20 overs.
In reply, Sikandar Raza, the captain of Zimbabwe played a lone effort and made 106 unbeaten off 56 balls. The others chipped in as well. But the Chevrons despite a terrific effort with the bat had a mountain to climb and a bridge too far as well. Raza’s knock meant the Chevrons got close and finished with 202/5 in 20 overs. The home team won the game by 19 runs to take a 2-0 lead in the 3-match series.
Azmatullah Omarzai’s breathtaking ton rescues Afghanistan and helps them post 221/7 in 20 overs.Â
Put into bat first for the second game in a row in Sharjah, keeper batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz and captain Ibrahim Zadran came out to open the batting for Afghanistan while Brad Evans had the ball in hand for Zimbabwe. The Afghans were off to the worst possible start as Gurbaz went second ball for a second ball duck to Evans. Mohammad Akram Zazai came out to bat next.
Just one run was added to the score before Zazai fell for a second ball duck again as Evans had two wickets in the over. Sediqullah Atal came out to bat next. Ibrahim and Atal could add just 4 runs to the tally before the skipper fell for 1 off 9 balls to Kundai Matigimu. Shahidullah Kamal came out to bat next. Matigimu had two in two balls as Kamal was dismissed for a golden duck. Afghanistan were reeling at 5/4 in 3.2 overs when Azmatullah Omarzai came out to bat next.
It was all Zimbabwe at this stage, as the Afghans were in desperate need of a partnership. The duo of Atal and Omarzai managed to take Afghanistan to a lowly 19/4 in 6 overs. Omarzai came and looked like he was playing on a different pitch than the other batters. The Omarzai and Atal partnership added 33 runs for the 5th wicket before Atal fell for 17 off 21 balls with 2 fours to his name to Vincent Maskesa. At 38/5 in 8.1 overs, Afghanistan had a lot of work to do.
Ijaz Ahmad Ahmadzai came out to bat next. The duo of Ahmadzai and Omarzai got themselves in and started to counter attack and how. The duo led Afghanistan’s remarkable recovery. Ahmadzai was in good form in the previous game and he showed his consistency tonight. But it was the Omarzai show all the way. He dazzled under the lights in Sharjah. The duo aced the middle phase and carried that on in the death overs phase.
Omarzai completed his half-century while Ahmadzai too continued his assault as well. The duo complemented each other really well. The duo put on a match turning 142 runs off 59 balls that means they did it inside 10 overs of batting. Ahmadzai completed his fifty while Omarzai also closed in on a ton. The duo took the score to 180 in 18 overs before the partnership was broken as Ahmadzai fell for 52 off 37 balls with 5 fours and 3 sixes to his name to Ernest Masuku.
With two overs to go in the innings, Rashid Khan came out to bat next. He meant business from the word go. Omarzai completed a sensational ton as he added 15 runs off 5 balls for the 7th wicket before Omarzai fell for 116 off 50 balls with 5 fours and 12 sixes to his name to captain Sikandar Raza. Mujeeb Ur Rahman came out to bat with 7 balls to go in the innings.
Mujeeb faced 2 balls and scored 2 runs, as Rashid provided the finishing kick by hitting 4 sixes off the 6 balls he faced including in the last over. His fiery innings helped Afghanistan recover from a dire 5/4 and 38/5 to finish with a massive 221/7 in 20 overs. Rashid, the finisher stayed unbeaten on 25 off 6 balls with 4 sixes to his name while Mujeeb remained unbeaten on 2 off 2 balls. 8 extras given by the fielding side as Afghanistan finished with 221/7.
Zimbabwe started well with the ball in hand but lost the plot in the end. Kundai Matigimu finished with figures of 2/48 in 4 overs. Brad Evans finished with 2/40 in 4 overs. Ernest Masuku finished with 1/42 in 4 overs. Vincent Masekesa finished with 1/21 in 3 overs. Captain Sikandar Raza finished with 1/53 in 4 overs. Ryan Burl bowled an over for 16 runs. This meant that Zimbabwe needed 222 runs to win off 20 overs to level the series 1-1.
Sikandar Raza’s unbeaten century goes in vain as Afghanistan holds their nerve to seal the series.Â
Chasing a massive 222 for the win, Brian Bennett and Innocent Kaia came out to open the batting for Zimbabwe while Fareed Ahmad Malik had the new ball in hand for Afghanistan. The duo got off to a flier as Kaia was the aggressor of the two while Bennett played second fiddle to him. The duo gave Zimbabwe a quick start and put on 39 for the first wicket inside 4 overs before Kaia fell for 25 off 13 balls with 3 fours and one six to his name to Azmatullah Omarzai. Captain Sikandar Raza came out to bat next.
Bennett and Raza managed to put on 20 more runs for the second wicket before Bennett fell for 22 off 15 balls with one four and two sixes to his name to Abdullah Ahmadzai. Ryan Burl came out to bat next. Zimbabwe were 59/2 after 6 overs of power play. Raza and Burl added 6 runs for the third wicket before Burl fell for 2 off 4 balls to Ahmadzai who cleaned him up. Keeper batter Tadiwanashe Marumani came out to bat next. Just 4 runs were added to the score before Marumani fell for 2 off 5 balls to Rashid Khan.
Wessly Madhevere came out to bat next. Raza and Madhevere tried to forge another stand with Raza doing the bulk of the scoring. The duo added 13 runs for the 5th wicket before Madhevere fell for 4 off 4 balls to Fareed Ahmad Malik. Tafadza Tsiga came out to bat next as Zimbabwe were 82/5 in 10 overs at the halfway stage of the chase.
From hereon, Afghanistan failed to get wickets while it was the Sikandar Raza show from here on. The captain of Zimbabwe showed his class and dazzled under the Sharjah lights. The required rate was huge but Raza was not giving up with out a fight. Tsiga too played his part and complemented Raza really well. Raza fought a lone battle and scored a scintillating ton.
The duo gave the Afghans a scare especially Raza. But they were always fighting the huge score. Raza went onto score a ton while Tsiga played his part and remained unbeaten on 31 off 23 balls. They put on an unbroken 120 runs off 60 balls for the 6th wicket but it was a bridge too far in the end. Raza remained unbeaten on 106 off 56 balls with 5 fours and 9 sixes to his name while Tsiga remained unbeaten on 31 off 23 balls with 1 four and 2 sixes to his name as Zimbabwe finished with a respectful 202/5 in 20 overs. 10 extras given by the fielding side.
It was hard work for the Afghanistan bowlers. Abdullah Ahmadzai was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 2/34 in 4 overs. Rashid Khan finished with 1/29 in 4 overs. Azmatullah Omarzai finished with 1/17 in 2 overs. Fareed Ahmad Malik finished with 1/51 in 4 overs. Mujeeb Ur Rahman finished with 0/43 in 4 overs. Shahidullah Kamal finished with 0/10 in 1 over. Ijaz Ahmad Ahmadzai finished with 0/18 in 1 over. So, Afghanistan win this contest by 19 runs to seal the series 2-0 with a game to spare. Azmatullah Omarzai for his scintillating ton was awarded the Player of the Match.
What Lies Ahead.Â
So, Afghanistan have sealed the series 2-0 with a game to spare. The third and final game of the series will be played at the same venue on Sunday 1st November, 2026 from 8 PM IST onwards. Afghanistan will look to clean sweep the series 3-0 while Zimbabwe will want to leave Sharjah on a high and take some confidence into the 2-Test series that follows them.
Let’s see how things unfold in the third and final T20I in Sharjah and whether the Chevrons can bounce back and make the series 1-2. Only time will tell.
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