1st ODI
Afghanistan 215 (49.2 ov)
Zimbabwe 99/4 (27.2/27.2 ov, target 112)
Afghanistan won by 12 runs (D/L method)
A Zimbabwe wicket two balls before rain descended upon Harare helped Afghanistan complete a 12-run win courtesy Duckworth-Lewis. The hosts were ahead by a solitary run according to the D/L method at the beginning of the 28th over, but Rashid Khan's wicket of Ryan Burl - which reduced Zimbabwe to 99 for 4 - meant Afghanistan held the D/L advantage when the weather decided to play spoilsport.
Chasing 216, Zimbabwe lost both openers inside six overs. They lost their third wicket with their total at 44 in the 15th over, but a 55-run fourth-wicket partnership between Burl and Craig Ervine (38*) started what looked like a Zimbabwe recovery. Rashid trapped Burl in front of the stumps in the 28th over and Zimbabwe got no time to recover as the rain came down.
Afghanistan had chosen to bat but the hosts kept the visitors in check. After opener Mohammad Shahzad fell early, Noor Ali Zadran (39) and Rahmat Shah (31) added 67 runs for the second wicket. By the 25th over, Graeme Cremer removed both set batsmen before captain Asghar Stanikzai struck his seventh ODI half-century to help Afghanistan along. He scored 50, helping Afghanistan's total move past 150, before his dismissal was followed by a string of wickets towards the end of their innings. That meant they were all out in the 50th over for 215.
2nd ODI
Afghanistan 238/9 (50.0 ov)
Zimbabwe 184 (42.1 ov)
Afghanistan won by 54 runs
Afghanistan went 2-0 up against Zimbabwe in the five-match ODI series after their spinners Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi took three wickets each to skittle the hosts for 184 in a chase of 239 in Harare.
Zimbabwe suffered a dramatic collapse in their chase after a strong start from opener Solomon Mire - whose 54 was his highest ODI score - and Craig Ervine (34). Mire hit seven fours and a six and was involved in a 69-run stand for the first wicket with Peter Moor while Ervine and Ryal Burl (27) added 55 runs for the fourth wicket. When Ervine fell Zimbabwe were 139 for 4. They were bowled out 45 runs later as Nabi, Rashid and left-arm spinner Amir Hamza (2 for 40) ran through the hosts' middle and lower order.
Afghanistan chose to bat after winning the toss and reached 238 for 9 despite a late batting collapse. After Mohammad Shahzad (64), who struck his eighth ODI fifty, Rahmat Shah (53) and Nabi (33) set up a base for the visitors, late wickets from Tendai Chatara hurt Afghanistan; they lost their last four wickets for 26 runs. Najibullah Zadran held up one end to score 45 off 47 deliveries before he was the ninth man out, during the last over of Afghanistan's innings.
The third ODI, a must-win affair for Zimbabwe, will be on February 21 in Harare.
3rd ODI
Zimbabwe 129 (32.4 ov)
Afghanistan 126 (29.3 ov)
Zimbabwe won by 3 runs
Harare Sports Club. Afghanistan are cantering towards a target of 130. They need 16 runs more, off 24 overs, with five wickets in hand, to win a third successive ODI series against Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe have never defended so low a total in one-day internationals. The match is in the bag, right? Enter seamer Chris Mpofu. Add some handy work from wicketkeeper Peter Moor, vital spin support from Sean Williams, and rash batting from Afghanistan's middle and lower order, and what you have is an unbelievable three-run win for Zimbabwe.
There was no hint of the drama to come when Mpofu began the 27th over and new batsman Mohammad Nabi dispatched the first ball over long-off for six. He took a single next ball, and the well-set Samiullah Shenwari was back on strike. Afghanistan needed nine. Shenwari went after a short, wide one, and under-edged; the ball was dying on keeper Moor, but he dived forward and held on. The very next ball, new man Najibullah Zadran's shot selection was suspect - he tried to pull a short one from outside off - and top edged. Moor held on again.
Six needed off 23 overs, three wickets in hand. Left-arm spinner Williams, bowling his fifth over, tossed it up on middle and Nabi missed the cut. Bowled. Williams sent down a maiden. The first ball of the next over, the Mpofu-Moor pairing was at it again. This time it was a short ball angling down leg, which Rashid Khan edged to be caught behind. Another wicket maiden and it was back to Williams. No. 10 Amir Hamza managed to get two off the first ball, Graeme Cremer misfielding amid all the tension. He kept out the next one, but could not hold himself back off the third ball; a big swing at a delivery tossed up on off ended in the hands of Richard Ngarava at point. Zimbabwe had won by three runs, keeping the series alive. To complete their first ever ODI series victory against a spirited Afghanistan side, they will have to win the next two games too, on February 24 and 26.
Zimbabwe seemed to have little chance of staying in the series after their batting failed. The only contribution of note came from Tarisai Musakanda, who scored 60 out of their total of 129. Only one other batsmen - Malcolm Waller, who finished unbeaten on 36 - made it past 10 as the home side imploded in 32.4 overs. Much of the damage was done by the medium pace of Gulbadin Naib and the legspin of Rashid Khan, who must have still been in a happy daze from his success at the IPL auction. He was also on a hat-trick at one point in this match.
When the players broke for lunch, Afghanistan were comfortable at 63 for 3 in 13 overs with captain Asghar Stanikzai and Shenwari at the crease. New-ball bowler Tendai Chatara got Stanikzai soon after the interval, though - another catch to keeper Moor - helping Zimbabwe take a step towards one of the most stunning comebacks.
4th ODI
Afghanistan 111 (38.5/42 ov)
Zimbabwe 107/3 (22.2/42 ov, target 105)
Zimbabwe won by 7 wickets (with 118 balls remaining) (D/L method)
Solomon Mire and Peter Moor made light work of a rain-adjusted target of 105 in 42 overs, breaking the back of their run-chase in a 79-run opening stand to square the five-match series against Afghanistan, and set the teams up for a winner-takes-all showdown in Harare on Sunday.
After keeping the series alive in a thrilling three-run victory in Tuesday's third encounter, Zimbabwe drew level with considerably fewer nerves this time around, although they were once again indebted to the accurate seam of Chris Mpofu, who followed up his three-wicket haul in that match with 3 for 25 in 7.5 overs today as Afghanistan stumbled to 111 all out.
After winning the toss and batting first, Afghanistan's ambitions of a competitive total were dented from the outset by Tendai Chatara, who conceded a solitary run in his first three overs before extracting Ihsanullah for a 20-ball duck, caught at midwicket by Tarisai Musakanda.
Chatara then made it two in six balls when Rahmat Shah was bowled for 1, and one over later, Afghanistan had slumped to 12 for 3 when the dangerous Mohammad Shahzad tried to hit his way out of trouble, but instead slapped Richard Ngarava straight to midwicket for 9.
Asghar Stanikzai, the captain, and Hashmatullah Shahidi resisted for a while in adding 29 for the fourth wicket, but Zimbabwe's bowlers had the bit between their teeth. Mpofu accounted for both men in consecutive overs, both caught behind by Moor - the former a blinding take diving away to his right.
At 46 for 5, Graeme Cremer's legbreaks were exactly what Afghanistan's belligerent lower-order didn't want to face, and he twirled through an eight-over spell at the cost of just 12 runs to ensure there would be no recovery to Afghanistan's momentum. Samiullah Shenwari top-edged a sweep to Chatara at short fine leg for 13, before Moor held onto his third catch of the innings to dismiss Karim Janat for 9.
Afghanistan were reeling at 96 for 8 in the 35th over when rain forced a lengthy delay, and though they eked out a handful of extra runs upon resumption, Mpofu picked up his third when Rashid Khan holed out to cover to end the innings.
In reply, Mire and Moor started with intent, picking off regular boundaries to eat into the target, before Mire upped the ante with a pull for six off Janat to bring up Zimbabwe's fifty in the ninth over. He added a second two overs later, a meaty drill over the covers that required a replacement ball, and though he eventually holed out in the deep off Mohammad Nabi, his hard-hitting 46 from 50 balls had sealed the game.
Zimbabwe did wobble briefly, with Musakanda and Craig Ervine falling in consecutive overs, but with Moor steadfast, it was left to Sean Williams to complete a facile victory with almost 20 overs to spare.
5th ODI
Afghanistan 253/9 (50.0 ov)
Zimbabwe 54 (13.5/22 ov, target 161)
Afghanistan won by 106 runs (D/L method)
Afghanistan's bowlers combined to roll Zimbabwe over for 54, helping the visitors seal a 3-2 series win with a 106-run D/L victory in the final ODI in Harare.
Afghanistan elected to bat and were provided a brisk start thanks to opener Noor Ali Zadran's 49-ball 46, even as Zimbabwe got regular breakthroughs early on. Noor Ali eventually fell at the end of the 15th over, a wicket that put the brakes on Afghanistan's momentum as captain Asghar Stanikzai and Rahmat Shah tried to steady the innings from 85 for 3. The pair put on 39 off 64 balls, which was followed by a fifth-wicket stand of 35 between Shah and Samiullah Shenwari. After Rahmat reached his fifty, both he and Shenwari were run-out as Afghanistan found themselves at 172 for 6 at the 40-over mark.
Allrounder Mohammad Nabi then batted with the lower order, hitting four fours and a six in his 48 off 40 balls. Dawlat Zadran hit 14 off 6 balls to lift them to 253 for 9. Medium-pacer Chris Mpofu finished with figures of 3 for 46 while the spin duo of Graeme Cremer and Sean Williams kept things tight and conceded a combined 74 in 20 overs.
Zimbabwe's response was delayed by rain and a wet outfield, leaving them with a revised target of 161 off 22 overs. They suffered an early blow, losing Peter Moor in the second over. Three balls later, left-arm spinner Amir Hamza removed Solomon Mire, before returning two more wickets off four balls in his next over to reduce Zimbabwe to 13 for 4.
There was to be no recovery, with only two batsmen getting into double-figures, as Nabi and Rashid Khan - who were both picked up by the Sunrisers Hyderabad at the IPL auction earlier this week - took combined figures of 5 for 22. Rahmat was named Man of the Match for his fifty.
No comments:
Post a Comment