Zimbabwe fans were left heartbroken at Harare Sports Club after a 3-wicket defeat in the last T20I match against Afghanistan on Saturday. Bowlers gave their best effort defending 127 runs but fell short in the last over to miss out on their first-ever T20I series win against Afghanistan.
After winning the toss, Rashid Khan-led Afghanistan elected to bowl first in the series decider and the captain led by example with a sensational spell. After struggling in his first spell, Rashid picked three wickets in an over in his second spell and finished the game with 4 for 27.
Azmatullah Omarzai, Naveen-ul-Haq and Mujeeb Ur Rahman also picked two wickets each to contribute to Zimbabwe's collapse to 127 in 19.5 overs. In-form opener Brian Bennett top-scored with 31 runs off 24 balls but the likes Sikandar Raza and Dion Myers failed with bat again.
Afghanistan also struggled for a positive start as Zimbabwe's fast bowlers dominated the powerplay to level the game. After impressive show with a ball, Omarzai also made an impact with a bat by scoring 34 runs off 37 balls but it was Mohammad Nabi's unbeaten 24 of 18 balls that took the visiting side over the finishing line with just 3 balls remaining.
"The partnership between Gulbadin and Azmatullah was good first and then the partnership between Azmatullah and Nabi," Rashid said in the post-match presentation. "As a bowler, it gives you lots of energy when you take wickets. The confidence is there and looking forward to the ODI series as well. 80-90 percent of the team is ODI team so we know what to do. So, this series win will give us confidence and boost us. It will give us the momentum going into the ODI and Test series."
Zimbabwe Playing XI: Brian Bennett, Tadiwanashe Marumani (wk), Dion Myers, Wessly Madhevere, Sikandar Raza (c), Tashinga Musekiwa, Wellington Masakadza, Faraz Akram, Richard Ngarava, Blessing Muzarabani, Trevor Gwandu.
Afghanistan Playing XI: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Sediqullah Atal, Zubaid Akbari, Darwish Rasooli, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan (c), Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi.
