Twitter Reactions: Zimbabwe register thrilling four-wicket win over Afghanistan

Zimbabwe defeated Afghanistan by four wickets in the opening game of the series. Visiting captain Rashid Khan won the toss and elected to bat first, expecting the surface to slow down in the second innings. However, Afghanistan did not have a good start as opener Rahamullah Gurbaz departed without opening his tally and his partner Sediqullah Atal made three. Batting at three, Hazmatullah Zazai made 20 runs off 15 deliveries. Mohammad Ishaq too failed to make a mark as Afghanistan were reduced to 58/5 at one stage.

They desperately needed a strong partnership that could challenge Zimbabwe. Veteran all-rounder Mohammad Nabi rose to the occasion and took Karim Janat under his wings and the duo stitched an important partnership of 79 runs. Janat remained unbeaten for 54 runs off 49 deliveries while Nabi smashed 44 off 27 balls. Courtesy of their collaboration, Afghanistan posted 144 runs in the first innings. Meanwhile, Richard Ngarava was the star with the ball for Zimbabwe, picking up three wickets.

Unlike Afghanistan, the hosts had a strong start and their grip on the game. Opener Brian Bennett had a slow start but his 49 runs off 49 balls were very effective, given that the surface wasn’t helping the batters enough. Dion Myers too played a valuable knock of 32 runs off 29. However, things slightly got complicated after the duo departed. Zimbabwe were losing wickets consistently and the team was under pressure.

Towards the fag end, Tashinga Musekiwa took care of the business and played a brilliant cameo of 16* runs off 13 deliveries that helped Zimbabwe win the match on the final ball. 11 runs were required in the final over but Azmatullah Omarzai failed to defend it as the Chevrons picked up a sensational win at home. The win will be extremely valuable to them, especially as Afghanistan recently played in the T20 World Cup semi-final, a tournament which Zimbabwe failed to qualify.

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