Afg vs Zim 1st T20I Review: Afghanistan won by 5 runs

The 1^st T20I between Afghanistan and Zimbabwe turned out to be a nail-biter. What an entertaining match it turned out to be. It was a start-stop sort of encounter which switched sides all the time. But it was the Afghanistan camp in the end which was the happier side as they took a 1-0 lead in the T20 series.

Winning the toss, Afghan openers Mohammad Shahzad and Usman Ghani set the platform as they put up a quick-fire 63 run stand. It was then the middle over burst from Graeme Cremer which saw Afghanistan in a slump. His three wickets could have paved the way for Zimbabwe but to Afghanistan’s rescue came Gulbadin Naib and Mohammad Nabi.

Naib and Nabi put together 57 runs off just 23 balls for the sixth wicket as they provided the perfect impetus for a final flourish. With the help of Naib’s 20 ball 37 and Nabi’s 10 ball 26, Afghanistan posted a formidable total of 187 for 7 on the board.

In reply for Zimbabwe Hamilton Masakadza and Richmond Mutumbami came out swinging hard from the word go. Despite losing two early wickets, they reached 95 at the end of 11 overs. The pressure of required run rate did get on to the batsmen eventually as the experienced Masakadza fell to a reverse sweep. Zimbabwe still didn’t lose hope as Malcolm Waller continued the onslaught.

Courtesy of a few lusty blows, Zimbabwe were left to get 21 off the last over. Skipper Stanizkai decided to hand over the bowling duties to his premier quick Dawlat Zadran. And my word, the pressure got to him as well as he started the over with a wide and later on ended up bowling two above the waist no-balls. In unusual circumstances, he was still allowed to continue as Zimbabwe fought till the last ball off which they required six runs to win. Some might say the game had to come to this eventually given the intensity of the whole match. But unfortunately, for Zimbabwe their fight went in vain as Jongwe sliced the last ball to get caught at cover.

Despite some controversy at the end, it was a cracker of a game. After the ODI series victory, Afghanistan sits pretty at 1-0 up in the two-match T20I series.

Brief Scores:

Afghanistan: 187/7 in 20 overs (U Ghani 42; G Cremer 3/17)

Zimbabwe: 182/7 20 overs (M Waller 49*; D Zadran 3/32)

Man of the match – Gulbadin Naib (Afghanistan)