Afghanistan scramble across to secure narrow win against Zimbabwe; level series 2-2
Afghanistan have secured a narrow win against hosts Zimbabwe by 3 wickets in the fourth ODI of the five match series. The visitors have now tied the 5 match series 2-2.
Chasing a modest total of 185, Afghanistan got off to a decent start with the openers Noor Ali Zadran and Mohammad Shahzad involving in a 72-run partnership. The latter played a composed innings in his knock of 80, which included 7 boundaries and 3 sixes.
Soon after the dismissal of Shahzad, Afghanistan did not forge too many partnerships and lost their way in between. They lost a few wickets in search of runs, but the tailenders held their nerve to push Afghanistan over the finishing line, with more than 3 overs to spare.
Earlier, Zimbabwe who had won the toss and chose to bat, got off to a disastrous start, losing their first 4 wickets for just 45 runs. However, a patient knock of 86 from Sikander Raza steadied the ship for Zimbabwe. Raza, along with Jongwe stitched a 65-run partnership, to rescue Zimbabwe and guide them to a respectable total.
Dawlat Zadran was the pick of the bowlers for Afghanistan, snarling 3 wickets and giving away just 37 runs in his 9 overs. Rashid Khan too impressed with the ball, picking up 2 wickets, at miserly economy of 3.7. The bowling of the visitors was the highlight of the match, with their top bowlers completely squeezing the batsman and restricting runs, which turned out to be vital in the end.
Unlike their opposition, Zimbabwe hardly troubled the batsmen, except in the final phase of the match. TS Chisoro was the best bowler for the hosts picking up 3 wickets and giving away 38 runs. Towards the end of the innings, Zimbabwe must have sensed victory when they picked up 3 wickets in quick succession, but the tailenders did more than a decent job and ensured Afghanistan did not face any more hiccups towards the end.รข??
Brief Scores:
Zimbabwe won the toss and decided to bat first
Zimbabwe 184-8 (Raza 86; Zadran 3-37)
Afghanistan 185-7 in 46.4 overs (Shahzad 80; Chisoro 3-38)
Result: Afghanistan won by 3 wickets; Series level at 2-2.