Afghanistan thrash Zimbabwe in first T20I: Records broken
Afghanistan bested Zimbabwe by six wickets in the first T20I. Batting first, Zimbabwe paced their innings to 159/9 in 20 overs. Sikandar Raza (45) and Wesley Madhevere (32) were the top scorers. Afghanistan started on a dominating note but lost crucial wickets in the 11th over. However, Najibullah Zadran's fiery show and a cameo from skipper Mohammad Nabi steered them home. Here's more.
Zimbabwe lost wickets for the major course of the innings. However, partnerships from Craig Ervine-Madhevere and Regis Chakabva-Raza powered them to a competitive total. For Afghanistan, Nijat was the pick of the bowlers. Afghanistan's openers put up an 83-run for the first wicket. Fortunately, the chase wound up in Afghanistan's favor regardless of a top-notch over from Burl, who decimated their top order.
Nijat pocketed figures of 3/39 on his international debut. The right-arm medium bowled well at the start but was belted at the later stages. Rashid claimed 1/21 in his full quota of overs. He now has 104 scalps for Afghanistan, averaging 12.78. Nabi (1/30) was expensive in his three overs. Nonetheless, he has now steered to 75 T20I scalps at an economy of 7.23.
Madhevere showed intent throughout his stay in the middle. The opener struck 32 off 24 deliveries, maintaining a strike rate over 130. He bashed five fours, the most by a Zimbabwean batter in the outing. As per ESPNcricinfo, he has raced to 643 runs in 27 T20Is, surpassing Malcolm Waller's tally (613). Wicket-keeper Chakabva scored a 24-ball 29. He has 486 runs in T20Is.
Raza was the chief contributor behind Zimbabwe closing in on a 159-run total. The middle-order batter was dropped when batting on a score of 8. He then rode on his luck to slam 45 off 31 deliveries, striking at 145.16. His knock was laced with three fours and two sixes. The right-handed batter has now raced to 644 runs in 48 T20Is.
Afghanistan enjoy a stellar 12-1 win-loss record versus Zimbabwe in T20Is. They were on an eight-match win streak against Zimbabwe before the latter trounced them in 2019. Since then, Afghanistan have mustered a four-match win streak.
Burl struck gold near the mid-way wark, dismissing Zazai, Gurbaz, and Usman Ghani to leave Afghanistan reeling at 86/3 in 10.6 overs. He finished with figures of 3/14, his best performance in the T20Is. The leg-spinner has now raced to 24 scalps in 37 T20Is.
As stated, Zazai and Gurbaz stitched an 83-run stand for the opening wicket. Zazai dealt in boundaries, smashing eight fours in his knock of 45. He has now raced to 772 runs in 23 T20Is. Meanwhile, Gurbaz played the second fiddle and managed 33 off 36 deliveries. He has now compiled 567 runs in T20Is at 27.00.
Afghanistan would have lost the duel if not for Zadran's 25-ball 44*. He clobbered two fours and three sixes, striking at 176.00. He has now raced to 1,303 runs in 71 T20Is. As per ESPNcricinfo, Zadran has now joined the likes of Mohammad Shahzad (2,015), Mohammad Nabi (1,554), and Asghar Afghan (1,382) as Afghanistan players with over 1,300 runs in the format.
