AFG vs ZIM, 5th ODI Review: Afghanistan complete a resounding 4-1 victory

Days are getting better and better for Afghanistan and their National Cricket Team as they’ve registered yet another mind-boggling victory. Against a far-more experienced Zimbabwean side, the Afghans exhibited unbelievable skill and technique to win the series 4-1. It’d be unfair to not mention and praise the performance of the young spinners Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Zadran, who were just too difficult for the batsmen to pick.

Earlier in the day, Afghanistan won the toss and elected to bat first. Blessing Muzarabani was the unfortunate victim when Tendai Chisoro dropped a fairly easy catch off Mohammad Shahzad. But he compensated for it by taking his wicket and Malcolm Waller’s screamer of a catch diving to his left played a crucial role in sending back the keeper-batsman.

It took a long time for the visitors to pick up another wicket as Javed Ahmadi and Rahmat Shah stuck in the crease to build a big partnership. The duo showed a great application of skill when it mattered the most as batting was getting a little challenging on this track. Muzarabani and Tendai Chatara, alongside skipper Graeme Cremer, bowled exceptionally well but these batsmen managed to win the test.

Javed Ahmadi got to a half-century in the 21st over and Rahmat Shah too got there after a few overs. The duo added a 129-run stand for the 2nd wicket before Rahmat Shah was dismissed by Sikandar Raza. Ahmadi fell prey to some misunderstanding and ran himself out in the process. An unexpected middle order collapse followed.

The Afghans completely lost control of the innings as the Pacers started to have their say. Samiullah Shenwari, Asghar Stanikzai, Nasir Jamal, and Mohammad Nabi could only manage single-digit scores. It was Rashid Khan’s excellent hitting towards the end that stroked them to a fighting total of 241. Rashid ended up scoring 43 off 29 balls and Afghanistan accumulated 54 runs in the last five overs. Sikandar Raza, Tendai Chatara, and Blessing Muzarabani picked up two wickets each for Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe go down without a fight

Just the way it happened in most games, Zimbabwe were outmuscled without challenging the hosts. They were off to a dreadful start as Hamilton Masakadza ran himself out in the 4th over of the game. After a few overs, Tarisai Musakanda spooned a simple off the comeback man Shapoor Zadran’s bowling.

The only phase of the innings where they managed to stay on level terms was during the partnership between Brendan Taylor and Craig Ervine. The duo looked solid whilst they were on the crease and though Ervine was going a bit too slow for an ODI game, it was the need of the hour. Taylor in the end managed to drag a few boundaries but didn’t seem that comfortable either.

But then, the spinners had to come into play and change the game as they’ve done throughout the series. Young left-arm spinner Sharafuddin Ashraf embarked an unprecedented collapse by picking up Brendan Taylor in the 19th over. The scoreboard read 72/3 at that point and no one expected them to close the innings before the score hit three digits.

But that is what happened as Zimbabwe lost their last 8 wickets for a paltry 23 runs. Afghanistan entered the game with four spinners this time and this trick from Asghar Stanikzai worked big time. Whilst the one fast bowler picked up a wicket, the other four spinners took 8 wickets amongst themselves.

Yet again, it was Rashid who finished with the best figures. His spell of 3/13 in 5.1 overs helped them bowl out Zimbabwe for 95 runs and they registered a mammoth 146-run victory. This is one victory the entire nation can be very proud of and this will be quite a morale booster ahead of the World Cup Qualifiers.

Brief Scores

Afghanistan: 241/9 in 50 overs (Javed Ahmadi 76, Rahmat Shah 59, Rashid Khan 43; Sikandar Raza 2/41, Tendai Chatara 2/42)

Zimbabwe: 95 all out in 32.1 overs (Craig Ervine 34; Rashid Khan 3/13, Sharafuddin Ashraf 2/15)

Player of the match: Rashid Khan