Afghanistan face Zimbabwe in ODI Tri-Series final: Preview and stats
What's the story
Afghanistan will take on Zimbabwe in the final of the ODI Tri-Series at Sharjah Cricket Ground, Sharjah. on Friday. This is the first time since 2003 that Sharjah is hosting an ODI tournament final. Afghanistan have been in dominant form, winning both their round-robin matches against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh. They comfortably defeated Bangladesh by seven wickets with 87 balls remaining in their last outing on Wednesday.
Team strength
Afghanistan's batting depth could prove crucial
Afghanistan's success isn't just down to a few players. They have a number of seasoned batters who are good at this format.
Ibrahim Zadran has been scoring runs consistently, while Sediqullah Atal scored a century against Zimbabwe on Monday.
Rahmat Shah and Hashmatullah Shahidi also played unbeaten knocks against Bangladesh, strengthening their batting lineup for the final clash.
Counter strategy
Zimbabwe's top order must fire against Rashid
Zimbabwe also dominated Bangladesh, with Craig Ervine and Brendan Taylor scoring important half-centuries.
They will be hoping their top three - Brian Bennett, Ben Curran, and Tafadzwa Tsiga - perform well after underwhelming in the two outings.
Zimbabwe's bowling attack is led by Blessing Muzarabani and Brad Evans, who have the skills and experience to take on Afghanistan's strong batting lineup.
Key players
Rashid vs Raza will be key battle
The final could hinge on Afghanistan's Rashid Khan bowling his two spells, regardless of whether they bat or bowl first.
He has taken four wickets each in the two round-robin matches.
Zimbabwe's Sikandar Raza will be key to stopping Rashid. He has faced him most among Zimbabwe batters.
As per Cricinfo, Raza has been dismissed by Rashid seven times across 14 innings.
Raza has scored 109 runs from 160 balls and averages 15.57.
Likely XIs
Here are the probable XIs
AFG probable XI: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Sediqullah Atal, Rahmat Shah (captain), Hashmatullah Shahidi, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, AM Ghazanfar, Yamin Ahmadzai, Fazalhaq Farooqi.
ZIM probable XI: Brian Bennett, Ben Curran, Tafadzwa Tsiga, Brendan Taylor (wk), Craig Ervine, Sikandar Raza (captain), Wessly Madhevere, Brad Evans, Wellington Masakadza, Ernest Masuku, Blessing Muzarabani.
Information
AFG vs ZIM: H2H record
Afghanistan and Zimbabwe have clashed 32 times in ODI cricket. Afghanistan have the edge, winning 21 of these matches. Meanwhile, Zimbabwe have recorded 10 wins. One game didn't have a result.
Players
Player focus: Here are the stats
In 134 matches, Afghanistan's Shah has scored 4,374 runs at 36.14. He owns 34 ODI fifties (100s: 6).
Rashid picked 4/17 versus Zimbabwe and 4/31 versus Bangladesh in the ongoing series.
In 125 matches, Rashid has amassed 234 wickets at 18.97. He owns 8 four-fers (5w: 7).
In 161 ODIs, Raza has amassed 4,756 runs from 152 innings. He averages 37.15 (100s: 7, 50s: 15).
Do you know?
Raza set to attain this record
Raza, who will be 40 years and 182 days on Friday, is set to become the oldest captain to lead a side in an ODI tournament final among Full-Member sides after Clive Lloyd did it at the age of 40 years and 165 days in 1985, as per Cricinfo.
Poll
