World T20 2016 Match 9 Review: Afghanistan steamroll Zimbabwe

Afghanistan seems to be becoming more of the team everyone is expecting them to become with an impressive – run win over Zimbabwe. The win saw the Afghans keep their World T20 qualification dreams. However, one’s gain is another’s loss as full member nation Zimbabwe may well face the prospect of taking an early plane back home.

The Nagpur surface was shambolic, to say the least. Playing on dead rubber, Asghar Stanikzai won the toss and decided to bat first. The move proved to be a masterstroke with the wicket offering very little in terms of assistance for the bowlers. With Noor Ali Zadran unable to find his feet, the mantle of laying the foundation for the innings fell on Mohammad Shahzad. The latter didn’t disappoint as he smashed the ball to all parts, notching up 40 in 23 balls. Tinashe Panyangara however, was in no mood as he removed Noor Ali Zadran, skipper Asghar Stanikzai and Gulbadin Naib in quick time. Sean Williams removed the dangerous Mohammad Shahzad as the Afghans now found their initial hard work thrown out of the window at 63/4 in the 8^th over.

The complacency of the Zimbabweans began to show some complacency with a few blunders in the field. Samiullah Shenwari and Mohammad Nabi took full advantage of this situation. After leading the much-anticipated revival, Shenwari and Nabi took full advantage as they took the attack to the opposition. Shenwari smashed 43 runs in 37 balls while Mohammad Nabi completed an impressive half century to score 52 off 32 balls. The pair smashed 8 fours and 3 sixes between them. Courtesy of the amazing revival, the Afghans finished their innings on 186/6 in their 20 overs.

Despite the wicket holding out as well as it did in the Afghan innings, the Zimbabweans failed to capitalize on the conditions. Despite showing good intent initially, Zimbabwe skipper Hamilton Masakadza was castled by Hamid Hassan for 11. The latter was later involved in his second scalp when he caught Vusi Sibanda’s sweep towards fine leg. Sibanda’s 21 ball 13 would prove to be extremely costly as the required run-rate crept up to almost 10 an over.

Unlike the previous match, this time, there would be no revival. The Afghan bowlers toiled hard with the faster bowlers bending their backs when required. The Zimbabwe batting lineup fell like a pack of cards. Richmond Mutumbami and Sean Williams attempted to steady the ship, but to no avail. Sikandar Raza attempted a different approach of taking his time and knocking the ball around. Tinashe Panynagara smashed two massive sixes as he remained unbeaten on 17, Zimbabwe’s highest run-scorer. However, this also failed miserably as the Zimbabwe innings closed at 127 all out.

Mohammad Nabi’s blistering knock saw him named the man of the match.

Brief Scorers

Afghanistan 186/6 in 20 overs (Nabi 52; Panyangara 3/32)

Zimbabwe 127 all out in 19.4 overs (Panyangara 17*; Rashid Khan 3/11)