Najibullah Zadran, Karim Janat star as Afghanistan whitewash Zimbabwe in T20Is
Afghanistan's Najibullah Zadran played a superb innings of 72* runs to ensure Zimbabwe returned home without a win in the T20I series. The Man of the Match award winner smacked 72 runs off just 35 deliveries to take Afghanistan to 183/7 in 20 overs.
In reply, the Zimbabwean team could not match the required run rate. Sean Williams' men lost only five wickets, but fell 47 runs short in the second innings. Karim Janat, who was adjudged the Player of the Series, was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 2/34. None of the Zimbabwean players could impress much in the final T20I.
Brief Scores: Afghanistan 183/7 (Najibullah Zadran 72*, Usman Ghani 39; Richard Ngarava 2/35, Blessing Muzarabani 2/41) beat Zimbabwe 136/5 (Sikandar Raza 41*, Ryan Burl 39*; Karim Janat 2/34, Naveen-ul-Haq 1/17) by 47 runs.
Heading into the dead rubber with an unassailable 2-0 lead, Afghanistan won the toss and opted to bat first in Abu Dhabi. Rahmanullah Gurbaz struggled to get going as he departed to the pavilion after a 21-ball 18. Usman Ghani and Karim Janat took the score past 50 with their 33-run partnership for the second wicket.
Najibullah Zadran and Asghar's partnership shifted the momentum in Afghanistan's favor
Zimbabwe bounced back with three quick wickets and reduced Afghanistan to 96/4 in 13.4 overs. Najibullah Zadran then joined hands with skipper Asghar Afghan to destroy the Zimbabwean bowling. The duo added 59 runs off just 4.4 overs.
After Afghan's dismissal, Najibullah Zadran continued the onslaught and ended with a 35-ball 72*, which included five fours and five sixes. Zimbabwe were set a 184-run target as they aimed to end the tour on a winning note.
However, opening batsman Tinashe Kamunhukamwe lost his wicket early once again. Tarisai Musakanda and Sean Williams tried to take their side close to the target, but their slow approach boosted the required rate. Before the powerplay ended, Mohammad Nabi got the better of Williams for the second consecutive time in this series.
Number four Milton Shumba's 16-ball 8 put pressure on the other batsmen. Soon, Karim Janat's double strike reduced Zimbabwe to 56/5 in 10.2 overs.
Experienced players Sikandar Raza and Ryan Burl tried their best to chase the score, but their unbeaten 80-run partnership could not stop Afghanistan from securing a 3-0 series victory.