Zimbabwe v Afghanistan 4th ODI Review: Afghanistan level the series

Zimbabwe v Afghanistan 4th ODI review: Afghanistan level the series: Afghanistan fans would not have asked for a better performance than today after the debacle in the last match. They came back strongly after a poor performance in the last match to win the 4th ODI. It was a big game for them, a do-or-die situation.

Afghanistan’s bowling attack has always looked solid in the series but Zimbabwe had no answers to the sharp bowling performance by them today. Zimbabwe went unchanged in the match while Afghanistan swapped Aftab Alam for medium pacer Mirwais Ashraf. The pitch was a new strip. It was a flat pitch which offered scoring opportunities to the batsmen.

Zimbabwe won the toss and decided to put Afghanistan on the field in a bright day. Skipper Stanikzai did not experiment at the start and began with Dawlat Zadran.

The Afghani fans were not made to wait long to cheer as Dawlat Zadran removed the in-form Richmond Mutumbami for 5. Zadran struck yet again within no time and sent Craig Ervine back to the dressing room for just 1 run. Zimbabwe was 2/13 at this point.

The Zimbabwean batsmen have been very inconsistent in the series and after a good performance in the last match they once again faltered in this match.

Zimbabwe lost another two quick wickets in the 13th and 14th over when Sean Williams (11 runs from 27 balls) chipped a catch to Nawroz Mangal at mid- off the bowling of Amir Hamza. Young leg-spinner Rashid Khan was the next bowler to strike. In the very next over, he deceptively trapped the struggling Chamu Chibhabha (26 runs from 64 balls) leg before.

Skipper Chigumbura and Raza looked to repeat their last match’s match-winning performances. But, Zimbabwe received yet another blow after Chigumbura was run out in a mix-up trying for a needless run. Zimbabwe sunk even more after rookie Rashid Khan struck again. Mutombodzi, the new batsman in, was stumped by Shahzad. There was sharp turn and he could not connect the ball after trying to over confidently charge down to the pitch.

Sean Williams looked good, but he needed a batsman to stand in support at the other end. And, Luke Jongwe provided that support. Sean Williams was the active partner while Jongwe accumulated runs at the other end, together they put up a crucial 65 runs partnership. Soon, Luke Jongwe (22 runs from 61 balls) also fell in the 44th over off the bowling of Mohammed Nabi.

T. Chisoro (8 runs from 27) also played sensibly and let Sikander Raza hit valuable runs as their innings was nearing the end. Sikander Raza finally got out in the final over of the match with just one ball left. He played a very brave knock and battled cramps to score 86 runs from 133 balls.

Afghanistan openers looked confident as they came out to bat to chase a modest 184. However, they started off very cautiously and were just 33/0 at the end of 10 overs. The usually aggressive Mohd. Shazad controlled his natural instinct to deny Zimbabwe any hope of early breakthrough.

Both openers continued in the same fashion. However, Chisoro provided the breakthrough Zimbabwe were looking for. Noor Ali Zadran mistimed a sweep and was caught in covers by Chigumbura. However, Shahzad was unaffected, he pressed the accelerator and started to free himself.

But there was a brief phase of choke. The struggling Mohammed Nabi (12 runs from 26 balls) departed after getting caught by Masakadza off Luke Jongwe’s bowling. In the very next over, the well-set and dangerous Shahzad was dismissed, thanks to a brilliant effort by the man of the moment Sikander Raza. He had to run back from midwicket, dive and catch it over his shoulder. Shahzad made a match winning 80 runs.

Nawroz Mangal (6 runs from 25 balls) once again disappointed. But, There was nothing to bother for Afghanistan as they were in a comfortable with just 51 runs required in the remaining 19 overs.

Captain Stanikzai now took the responsibility of finishing the chase. Shenwari, however, struggled to score comfortably and soon got out. But there was a bit of stirring moment as Afghanistan lost Shamiullah Shenwari (10 runs from 36 ball), Shafiqullah (4 runs from 4 balls) and Asghar Stanikzai (32 runs from 68 balls) went back one after the other.

However, the job was already done and Afghanistan were inches away from levelling the series. With just 7 runs were required to win, Rashid Khan finished the match with a six.

With this shot, Afghanistan level the series while on the other hand, Zimbabwe squandered a good chance of clinching the series.

The match may have had a different result if the Zimbabwe batsmen had provided some support to Sikandar Raza to get the side over 210 runs.

Both the teams will now battle it out on Saturday when they meet to play the final and the deciding match .

Brief Scores:

Zimbabwe – 184/8 50 overs (S. Raza 86, C Chibhabha 26; D Zadran 3-97)

Afghanistan – 185/7 46.4 overs (Mohammed Shahzad 80, A Stanikzai 32; T Chisoro 3-38)

Afghanistan won by 3 wickets with 20 balls to spare.

Man of the Match – Mohammed Shahzad