Afghanistan clinch T20I series against Zimbabwe in thrilling finale: Stats
Afghanistan defeated Zimbabwe in a thrilling T20I series, winning the third match on Saturday at the Harare Sports Culub, Harare. The decider witnessed Afghanistan chasing a target of 128 and struggling early at 45/4 after seven overs. However, an expensive 11-ball over from Faraz Akram, which had five wides, gave the much-needed turning point to Afghanistan's comeback. Here are the details.
Omarzai and Naib's partnership steers Afghanistan to victory
Azmatullah Omarzai and Gulbadin Naib were instrumental in Afghanistan's revival, stitching a vital partnership that stabilized the innings. Despite Zimbabwe's efforts to dismiss Omarzai, Naib, and Rashid Khan, Afghanistan clinched victory with mere seven runs required in the last over. Mohammad Nabi hit a boundary off Akram's first ball of the 20th over, and then another three runs with three balls to spare.
Zimbabwe's performance marred by extras and batting struggles
Zimbabwe's performance was riddled with mistakes, including giving away 17 extras. This was their sixth consecutive bilateral T20I series defeat against Afghanistan. Brian Bennett was the highest run-scorer for Zimbabwe among both teams in the series with 107 runs. However, despite his valuable contribution in the third match, Zimbabwe failed to hold on after scoring 57/3 one ball into the ninth over.
Brian Bennett scores 24-ball 31; Rashid Khan claims four-fer
For the hosts, Brian Bennett chipped in with a score of 31 runs from 24 balls. He slammed four fours. Wessly Madhevere was the next best scorer with 21 runs from 22 balls. For the Afghans, star spinner Rashid was the chief architect. He claimed a four-fer (4/27). With this, Rashid has raced to 161 T20I wickets at 13.80, including 159 for Afghanistan. As per ESPNcricinfo, in 451 T20 matches, he now owns 622 scalps at 18.
These three Afghan bowlers shine as well
Pacer Naveen-ul-Haq picked 2/27 from 3.5 overs. In 48 T20Is, he has 67 scalps at 18.73. Spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman managed 2/20 from his 4 overs. He now owns 63 wickets at a solid 18.11. Meanwhile, Omarzai claimed 2/10. He owns 37 T20I scalps for Afghanistan.
Key numbers from Afghanistan's chase
Zimbabwe took the match close but fell short in the end. Blessing Muzarabani was brilliant. He claimed 2/19 from his 4 overs (1 maiden). He has raced to 77 scalps at 21.76. Skipper Sikandar Raza managed 2/19 from his 4 overs. Raza owns 79 wickets at 22.78. Trevor Gwandu claimed 2/30. He has 11 scalps under his belt. For the Afghans, Omarzai was superb, scoring a valuable 34. Naib scored 22 runs whereas Nabi managed an unbeaten 18-ball 24.
