1st ODI (Christmas Day)
Afghanistan 131 (38.5 ov)
Zimbabwe 82 (30.5 ov)
Afghanistan won by 49 runs
Two halves of contrasting nature brought out all the elements associated with a low-scoring thriller. In the end, Afghanistan bowled Zimbabwe out for a mere 82 to script a memorable 49-run in Sharjah. On a slow deck that sprung to life under lights, it was Mirwais Ashraf, the seamer, who opened the flood gates with two early blows before the spinners led by Amir Hamza dismantled a nervous middle order with point precision.
Afghanistan took a 1-0 lead by successfully defending the lowest total for an Associate team against a Full Member - 131 - and sent out an clear message that it will need a mammoth effort from Zimbabwe to entertain thoughts of winning in conditions as subcontinent as it can get.
What was to be a regulation chase turned into a mess as Zimbabwe were reduced to 12 for 3 even before the supper break. Chamu Chibhabha was bowled by Hamza's inswinger, Craig Ervine top-edged a whip to third man, while Richmond Mutambami's big gap between bat and pad resulted in a broken middle stump.
Zimbabwe needed the industry of their captain Elton Chigumbura and the experience of Sikandar Raza to steer them out of troubled waters, but Afghanistan's spinners strangled the batsmen so well that they were forced to play the glory shot a little too often. On a surface that didn't aid stroke making. the ploy boomeranged on Zimbabwe and they failed to even last 31 overs.
While Hamza picked up four wickets, two of which were courtesy deliveries that spun across the face of the bat to hit the stumps, Mohammad Nabi's loopy offspin yielded two scalps, including Chigumbura's which broke Zimbabwe's spine. A recovery from 64 for 5 was never going to be on.
Raza's mix-up with Malcolm Waller that had both batsmen stranded at the same end, looking helplessly at each other as Afghanistan pumped their fists in joy, summed up a game where their batting fragility was ruthlessly exposed.
Under the circumstances, Noor Ali Zadran's 63 proved to be gold dust even as the other Afghanistan batsmen were victims of their own diffidence. They started like a bullet train, but finished like a two-stroke engine that ran out of oil. Fifty nine runs were added in the first 10 overs, but they lost the last seven wickets for 38 to be bowled out in 38.5 overs after electing to bat on a surface that didn't have the typical Sharjah sheen.
A bulk of the damage was done by Graeme Cremer, the legspinner, courtesy subtle changes in pace and clever use of angles as he finished with 5 for 20.
Cremer would have hoped to put his feet up and soak in the moment that brought him a second five-wicket haul in ODIs, but the manner in which Zimbabwe's top order caved in meant he could not. He had to shepherd an inexperienced Zimbabwe tail against a spirited team and a boisterous crowd.
In the end, a crest-fallen Cremer, whose spell should have won Zimbabwe the match, was stranded in the middle as the Afghans celebrated a Test-team takedown in style.
2nd ODI (29th Dec)
Zimbabwe 253/7 (50.0 ov)
Afghanistan 254/6 (47.4 ov)
Afghanistan won by 4 wickets (with 14 balls remaining)
Afghanistan's batting can be like a petulant teenager. They can be impulsive and reckless. They have played to the gallery when they should have played the situation. They have often been their own worst enemy. But 2015 has witnessed their coming of age and they signed off with a victory that was built on a level-headed chase and their ability to withstand pressure when it came. Afghanistan ran down 254 with 14 balls in the bank and a top-order batsman out in the middle as Mohammad Shahzad recorded the highest score for his team in ODIs - 131 not out off 133 balls.
Afghanistan will savour going 2-0 up, but they were nearly undone by a bit of stage fright as they neared the finish line. They had pushed Zimbabwe to the limit by playing assured and sensible cricket. The Sharjah fans had begun thinking of an early finish and a lengthy party. And Elton Chigumbura who had bowled only twice since March 2015, was forced to bring himself on. It was a last throw of the dice and it nearly worked.
Four balls in, Mohammad Nabi was run out. First ball of Chigumbura's third over brought the wicket of Asghar Stanikzai and the last ball of his fourth over fetched the wicket of Samiullah Shenwari. Afghanistan had cobbled together only 30 runs in nine overs until the 40th, and they went into the final 10 without the big-hitting Najibullah Zadran, who was another Chigumbura victim.
But Shahzad was still there and he proved the difference. He has mirrored Afghanistan's growth as a batting unit. The brain freezes of the past gave way to an innings of poise and control. His power was hidden away until he was well set enough to minimise the risk in those heaves over the leg side. He trundled through the Powerplay and emerged from the first 10 overs with only three fours. He reached his fifty with a six, but was still accumulating at less than a run a ball. The problem for Zimbabwe was that he had been out there for 19 overs - ample time to understand a slow and low Sharjah pitch and assess the opposition's biggest threats.
Shahzad got into the nineties with a six too, having taken 41 runs off his last 39 balls. He finished with seven fours and eight sixes, the most by a batsman from an Associate nation in ODIs. The path to his hundred was painstaking - he spent almost six overs getting the final six runs and burst into a memorable celebration full of fist pumping and bat waving.
Zimbabwe's bowlers had done well to keep him quiet in that time, but they needed to take him out and the good work they themselves had done with the bat went in vain. They had to tackle the same pitch on which they made the lowest total by a Full Member against an Associate nation in ODI history. There were two marked differences from the record-breaking events of Christmas day, though.
Zimbabwe were chasing when Afghanistan's spinners bundled them out for 82. Today, Chigumbura called correctly at the toss and helped his team avoid scoreboard pressure and the complication of batting under lights. And given the best conditions to bat in, Zimbabwe's 11th opening pair in 31 ODIs made a promising start.
In Peter Moor and Richmond Mutumbami's care, only two of the first 10 overs did not feature a boundary. They took the score to 71 for 0 with sound planning and skillful execution. Moor for example, harvested half of his runs through and over mid-off, including two of his three sixes, to secure his maiden ODI fifty at a strike rate of 100.
But the ball began to age after 15 overs. It was stopping on the batsman off a good length on a typically slow Sharjah surface. Afghanistan picked up on that and trusted the experienced Mohammad Nabi to turn things around. He did so with a beautifully crafted trap that turned the batsman's strength against him. Moor had been eager to drive all day, so Nabi tossed the ball up wider, Moor lunged forward and his back leg left the safety of his crease, Nabi beat the outside edge, Mohammad Shahzad completed the stumping.
Five balls later, debutant left-arm spinner Rokhan Barakzai had Mutumbami caught and bowled and Afghanistan had effectively reset the match. Zimbabwe were up for it thanks to Ervine's resourcefulness and helpful cameo from the returning Hamilton Masakadza.
They were able to keep up the pace simply by using the pace offered to them. Ervine was so prolific at it that he found 39 of his 73 runs behind the wicket. And as an added bonus, his use of sweeps and reverse sweeps kept the pressure on the Afghanistan spinners. Masakadza was also quick to understand that his power game has a lesser chance of success of a slow, low Sharjah pitch. So he found 29 of his 47 runs through singles, and in doing so ensured Ervine took a lot of the strike. Their third-wicket partnership put 98 risk-free runs, barring one occasion when Williams could have been stumped on 43, and gave Zimbabwe's lower order the freedom to play without worrying about wickets falling. In the end, they were still 20 runs short.
3rd ODI
Zimbabwe 175 (48.3 ov)
Afghanistan 58 (16.1 ov)
Zimbabwe won by 117 runs
The new year brought in new fortunes for Zimbabwe's bowlers, but not their batsman, as they snatched a 117-run win from Afghanistan in the third ODI in Sharjah to keep the five-match series alive. Their medium-pacers struck from the very first over and allowed a biggest partnership of only 23 runs as Afghanistan were routed for 58 in their chase of 176. Luke Jongwe took his maiden ODI five-for and Neville Madziva finished with 3 for 27 from six overs to dismiss Afghanistan in only 16.1 overs.
It barely looked like Zimbabwe would get anywhere close to victory when they were 49 for 7 after choosing to bat, but Hamilton Masakadza and Graeme Cremer staged a comeback for them, striking fifties and sharing a partnership of 104 runs to help the side move past 150. With a more respectable total to defend, Zimbabwe's bowlers dismantled the Afghanistan line-up, by having most of their frontline batsmen caught behind. Unlike Zimbabwe, Afghanistan could not recover from their score of 47 for 7 and, except for an Mohammad Shahzad, no other batsman reached double-figures.
Strangely, both teams were 0 for 2 and Zimbabwe's recovery was better. Madziva and Jongwe didn't allow the Afghanistan batsmen to breathe at all. Madziva struck off consecutive deliveries in the first over to remove Noor Ali Zadran with a yorker and Mohammad Nabi with a wide delivery which he edged to the wicketkeeper. The other opening bowler and left-arm spinner Tendai Chisoro, who came in for Wellington Masakadza, also chipped in with two big wickets to reduce Afghanistan to 39 for 4.
Shahzad, meanwhile, had done a bit of damage early on to keep Afghanistan alive by scoring 31 of their total of 39 by the sixth over. He used brute force and targeted the leg side for most of his blows before failing in his attempt to clear mid-off and Elton Chigumbura dived forward for a good, low catch. The rest of the damage was then inflicted by Jongwe, who stuck to an asking line and length outside off, extracted good bounce and produced frequent outside edges.
He moved the ball just a bit to make Hashmatullah Shahidi and Mirwais Ashraf edge the ball to Masakadza at wide slip, in the ninth over. In his next over he also had Samiullah Shenwari edge one behind with marginal seam movement to move the ball away and, with the score on 49 for 8, Afghanistan's chase had virtually ended there. Jongwe didn't leave that to anyone else; he got his fourth wicket when Rashid Khan cut him powerfully to cover point and finished things off by strangling Amir Hamza down the leg side, on the first ball of his sixth over. Afghanistan, who had seized the early momentum by bowling beautifully in the beginning of the match, folded meekly in their attempt to convert their 2-0 lead into a 3-0 series win.
Zimbabwe's top and middle order collapsed for the second time in three matches as Afghanistan's new-ball bowlers Hamza and Dawlat Zadran pounced early on by removing the openers in the first eight balls. Left-arm spinner Hamza slid one in from wide of the crease to trap Peter Moor lbw, and five balls later Chamu Chibhabha poked at an outswinger to hand a catch to the wicketkeeper. 0 for 2.
Richmond Mutumbami assisted Masakadza in a stand of 33, but an unnecessary sweep for a ball well outside off resulted in a bottom-edge to the wicketkeeper for 14. Their hopes rested on middle-order batsmen Chigumbura and Sikandar Raza but medium-pacer Ashraf's double-strike removed both of them to leave Afghanistan reeling. Masakadza tried to unsettle Nabi by welcoming him with a straight six in the ninth over but lack of partners meant he had to rely on singles and doubles after that. To deepen Afghanistan's woes further, a mix-up between Malcolm Waller and Masakadza ended in Waller's run-out and they were soon 49 for 7.
Cremer then joined Masakadza and the two responded with a rather unagitated approach. They nudged the spinners around to keep the score ticking, and Cremer also collected fours when Rashid Khan and Hamza bowled shorter to knock the run rate above three runs per over. Cremer's first six, off Dawlat in the 32nd over, showed that the two batsmen were not going to give in. His hook brought up the fifty stand and also the team's 100, and they switched gears further by scoring 36 runs from the 36th to 40th over.
Cremer, though, fell to a full-toss soon after the 100 partnership came up and Masakadza added another 14 to his name before holing out to deep square leg off Dawlat, for 83.
4th ODI
Zimbabwe 226 (49.1 ov)
Afghanistan 161 (45.0 ov)
Zimbabwe won by 65 runs
Zimbabwe were defending 30 less than a total that was single-handedly gunned down by Mohammad Shahzad last week. On Monday, Shahzad was left with the unenviable task of steering his team out of a proper top-order wobble if they had any chance of achieving the 227-run target to seal the series. But the pressure of a chase on a Sharjah deck that was superbly used as an ally by Graeme Cremer and Chamu Chibhabha told as Zimbabwe won by 65 runs to take the series into the deciding final ODI on Wednesday.
Normally known for his belligerence, Shahzad transformed himself into a slow accumulator, seemingly intent on batting himself into a position from where he could pull off a heist. Run-scoring wasn't easy, and Zimbabwe's fielders made the target look 20 runs greater than it was. Eventually, the frustration of being unable to unfurl the big hits consumed Shahzad as Chibhabha, who conjured a fighting half-century earlier in the piece, prised out the big fish for a 72-ball 45, to leave Afghanistan in tatters at 88 for 5.
Hashmatullah Shahidi held one end up, but Afghanistan's freefall left him with little to work with. He fell for 31 as the wheels came off the chase soon after. Crèmer's loopy legspin earned him two wickets, while Chibhabha had four scalps with his accurate seam-up. Afghanistan were bowled out for 161 in 45 overs as Zimbabwe earned a shot of redemption as the series was back on an even keel.
Afghanistan's batting approach upfront, at least in the series, has often bordered on the thin line between aggressive and over-aggressive. But this time around, they seemed intent on proving the doubters wrong by showing they possess a solid defensive game too. As a result, deliveries that would have otherwise been met with a fierce swing were either defended or left alone, and within the bat of an eyelid, they were behind the eight ball right from the start.
Nevill Madziva, who relies on angles and late swing, gave Zimbabwe their first breakthrough when he had Noor Ali Zadran nick one to Richmond Mutumbami. Five overs later, Asghar Stanikzai flicked a low full-toss to midwicket to leave Afghanistan in trouble at 13 for 2. The early losses seemed to affect Shahzad's shot-selection as he soon went into his shell.
The two-paced nature of the pitch, which accounted for Rashid Khan's wicket when a leading edge was well taken by a diving Hamilton Maskazda at point, induced more doubts in Shahzad's mind. But it wasn't yet the crisis it turned out to be later, for there was hope at least till Mohammad Nabi was around. But his wicket simply threw Afghanistan's innings off the wheels and they hurtled with every blow that came after, as Chibhabha's middle-order wreckage left the tail with too much to do.
The effervescence of Zimbabwe's efforts with the ball and on the field almost took the focus away from an insipid batting effort that resulted in their losing their last seven wickets for 56 runs. In two of the three ODIs so far in the series, Zimbabwe's half-hearted approach towards shot-making on sluggish pitches exposed their lower order much earlier than they would have liked. The end result was scores of 82 and 175.
On Monday, the lower order faced a challenge of a different kind, as the top-order batsmen, who got off to starts, fell to a succession of misguided strokes, resulting in Zimbabwe failing to cash in on the 92-run opening stand between Chibhabha and Peter Moor. After a slow start, Moor, who had tallied all of 86 runs in five previous ODI innings, found his hitting range and struck four sixes, all over deep midwicket off the spinners, to bring up a half-century.
But Rashid Khan, the 17-year old legspinner playing in only his sixth ODI, had the last laugh as he triggered Zimbabwe's collapse. He finished with 3 for 43, while Amir Hamza, the left-arm spinner used generally as an attacking option, did his bit by picking up two wickets.
What should have been a stroll suddenly turned into a struggle as one batsman after another walked in and walked out, even as Afghanistan's pacers, particularly Dawlat Zadran, proved there was more to their attack than just a plethora of slow bowlers capable of applying the squeeze. But the inability of the batsmen to rise to the party somewhat reduced the bowling effort to a footnote.
5th ODI
Zimbabwe 248 (49.5 ov)
Afghanistan 254/8 (49.4 ov)
Afghanistan won by 2 wickets (with 2 balls remaining)
Gulbadin Naib played the most important innings of his international career to hand Afghanistan a sensational comeback win that not only lifted them to their second 3-2 series win against Zimbabwe, but also ensured the team broke into the top 10 in the ODI rankings.
Naib, who played his last ODI in February 2015, struck his first international fifty, and exhibited a calm demeanor and splendid stroke-making ability to guide Afghanistan to the 249 target with two wickets and two balls to spare. Naib's heroics overshadowed Hamilton Masakadza's, who compiled his fourth ODI century with staggering ease and a brisk strike rate too.
The contest swung one way and then the next towards the last few overs of the chase. When Naib lost his ally Rashid Khan in the 48th over, he was forced to rethink his strategy with the tail. The match hung in the balance till the last over, when 10 runs were needed. Naib found an edged boundary to third man and after brace of twos, Afghanistan had leveled the score. Naib proceeded to thump the next ball - low full toss - to the roof of the stand at square leg, sparking wild celebrations among the Afghanistan players and staff.
Such was the state of the thrilling contest that even with five overs to go, it was anybody's game. Afghanistan needed 46 with four wickets in hand. The 46th over, given to Neville Madziva, proved to be the game changer. Madziva missed his length and offered Naib two full tosses, both of which were heaved to the leg side boundary. That over cost Zimbabwe 16 runs, the momentum, and as would eventually turn out, the series. Although Madziva bounced back with two wickets in his next over, it proved too little and slightly too late.
Defeat would have especially hurt Zimbabwe as they seemed to have the match wrapped up when Asghar Stanikzai was sixth man out with 104 needed off 93 balls on a slow wicket. However, Naib and Rashid got together to tip the contest in Afghanistan's favour. It was the Zimbabwe's bowlers turn to crumble under the pressure as Naib swiped low full tosses to the leg-side boundary and the seamers missed their attempted yorkers.
Afghanistan's openers Mohammad Shahzad and Noor Ali Zadran continued to show their form in contrasting manner. While Shahzad used his muscular prowess to bash boundaries over the infield, Noor Ali used deft touch, timing and placement to scythe fours through the fielders. Nonetheless, both found the boundaries with regularity to get Afghanistan ahead of the asking rate with a brisk stand of 49.
But as had been the case throughout the series, the ball dominated the bat under lights after the end of the first Powerplay. Luke Jongwe made the first incision with a ripper, one that ducked back in just enough to rattle Shahzad's stumps. Noor Ali got another start before being drawn into a false stroke, as he top-edged a sharp bouncer to fine leg. Afghanistan's main men were dismissed and a tricky chase got even harder. Jongwe was the wrecker-in-chief again.
Unlike the first innings, seam and spin combined well to swell the required rate. Although assisted by significant movement off the pitch, the Zimbabwe bowlers initially found the right areas to beat the bat frequently. Mohammad Nabi and Hashmatullah Shahidi strung together a 55-run stand but the pressure of the chase resulted in both their wickets, in the space of four balls. Graeme Cremer first went through Nabi's inside edge to trap him in front and then Sikandar Raza had Shahidi bowled with a slider. When Raza slid another one through to have Asghar Stanikzai caught behind, Afghanistan not only had to repair the damage, they had to first plug the leak. Thankfully for the hosts, Naib managed to do both with equal aplomb.
Earlier, it was Masakadza's experience and patience that transformed Zimbabwe's batting, propelling the team to 248. Such was the impact of Masakadza's 111-ball 110 that Zimbabwe had hoped for a score close to 280 at one stage. However, Afghanistan's bowlers bounced back in the death overs after a slapdash middle period.
As was expected from the start, run-scoring proved to be hard, but Afghanistan had themselves to blame with a discernibly sloppy period in the middle. Half-volleys, long-hops and full tosses were dispatched with ease and catches were spilled.
Masakadza, in particular, cashed in on many such run-scoring opportunities, forcing spinners off their lengths with powerful sweeps and efficient utilization of the depth of the crease. His strike-rate for the most part hovered around 100 as he ensured the bowlers struggled to string together dot balls.
Peter Moor and Richmond Mutumbami also benefited from Masakadza's pyrotechnics and were allowed to play valuable cameos in their own fashion. Moor employed a block-launch approach, while Mutumbami used the slog sweep to pile on the misery, including one that left the ground over the midwicket boundary off Hamza in the 30th over.
Mutumbami's dismissal, though, elicited an Afghanistan comeback. Afghanistan's bowlers quickly found their lengths and were rewarded with results. All the lower order could do was huff and puff their way to Zimbabwe's second-highest score of the series.
No comments:
Post a Comment