Twitter Reactions: Afghanistan edge past Zimbabwe courtesy of Najibullah Zadran's heroics

Afghanistan defeated Zimbabwe in the first T20I at Harare by six wickets as they chased down Zimbabwe’s total of 159 runs with four balls to spare. Najibullah Zadran was the protagonist for the Afghan side, scoring an unbeaten 44 off 25 deliveries to get his side over the finishing line. He received able support from skipper Mohammad Nabi, who played a quick cameo of 15 runs in just eight balls and remained not out.

The Afghan openers made a brisk start to the game as Hazratullah Zazai (45 off 26) and Rahmanullah Gurbaz (33 off 36) stitched an 83-run stand for the first wicket. Afghanistan were cruising at one stage before Ryan Burl rattled them with three wickets in the 11th over. Zimbabwe pulled things back brilliantly and put pressure on the Afghanistan middle order with tight overs in the middle.

With 61 needed off 30 balls, Afghanistan needed an onslaught from their batters and Zadran responded to the call as he put Blessing Muzarabani to the sword in the 17th over, which yielded 26 runs. Zadran sealed the match with a massive six in the 20th over. Sikandar Raza, who was the star with the bat, did an exceptional job with the ball as he conceded just 16 runs in four overs. But it was the performance of Burl that stole the limelight (3/14).

Zimbabwe posted competitive total on the back of Sikandar Raza’s innings

Zimbabwe came into the game after facing a 3-0 whitewash in the ODI series, but they were hoping for a change of fortunes in the T20 format. Zimbabwe’s innings was off to a rocky start after the early dismissal of their opener Innocent Kaia in the third over, but Wessley Madhevere looked fluent from the other end before being dismissed for 32 off 24.

The Zimbabwe innings struggled for momentum throughout, with wickets falling at regular intervals. A late blitz from the experienced Raza (45 off 31) saw them score 35 runs off the last three overs and finish with a respectable 159 on the board.

Nijat Masood was the pick of the Afghan bowlers with three wickets to his name, but it was the renowned trickery from Rashid Khan that never allowed the Zimbabwe middle-order batters to open their hands. Rashid finished with 1/21 in his four overs.

Here’s how Twitter reacted:

Congrats to @ACBofficials Team. Afghanistan won by 6 Wickets and take 1-0 lead in the 3 matches T20I series.
Excellent spell Nijat Masood 3/39.
Superb knocks by Hazratullah Zazai 45(26) and Najibullah Zadran 44*(25).

Very well played boys🙌🏻👏🏻👍🏻#ZIMvAFG pic.twitter.com/K2o13JRA1n

— Rizwan Afghan🇦🇫 (@RizwanAfghan17) June 11, 2022

#1stT20I | 🇦🇫 won by 6 wickets to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series

#ZIMvAFG | #VisitZimbabwe

— Zimbabwe Cricket (@ZimCricketv) June 11, 2022

Najibullah Zadran's unbeaten 44 off 25 balls guided Afghanistan to a win and they go 1-0 up in the three-match series.#Cricket #CricTracker #Zimbabwe #Afghanistan #ZIMvAFG #T20I #NajibullahZadran pic.twitter.com/IKAG6hlwnB

— CricTracker (@Cricketracker) June 11, 2022

Memorable Moments for Nijatullah Masoud as he receives his T20I debut cap from the star All-rounder Rashid Khan. He would surely keep those golden words from Rashid Khan in mind for a long while. 🤩👏

##AfghanAtalan | #ZIMvAFG pic.twitter.com/RjWwzMBevb

— Afghanistan Cricket Board (@ACBofficials) June 11, 2022

Afghanistan have gone nine T20I series in a row without defeat, a run stretching back to the start of 2018.

They are halfway to making it 10 series unbeaten with victory in the first T20I against Zimbabwe.#ZIMvAFG pic.twitter.com/gGm0uSvbsj

— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) June 11, 2022