Afghanistan thrash sorry Zimbabwe in 2nd ODI, take 1-0 lead
What's the story
Afghanistan humbled Zimbabwe in the 2nd ODI of the three-match series at Harare Sports Club, Harare on Thursday.
The Afghans scored a commendable 286/6 in 50 overs. Sediqullah Atal stole the show with a gritty 104. Abdul Malik hammered 84 runs.
In response, Zimbabwe were blown away. The hosts were bowled out for 54.
Afghanistan took a 1-0 lead in the series.
Summary
Summary of the 2nd ODI
The 191-run opening stand handed Afghanistan the platform to post a total in excess of 300. However, the hosts did well to keep the Afghans below 290.
Newman Nyamhuri, who dismissed both Atal and Abdul, finished with three wickets in the match.
In response, Zimbabwe lost wickets from the beginning and folded for 54. Allah Ghazanfar took 3/9. Naveed Zadran managed 3/13.
Atal
Sediqullah Atal slams his maiden ODI century
Atal slammed his maiden ODI century versus Zimbabwe in the 2nd encounter.
The 23-year-old opener hit a sublime 104-run knock from 128 balls. He slammed four sixes and 8 fours.
Notably, he shared a 191-run stand for the opening wicket alongside Abdul.
Atal has raced to 178 runs from five matches (4 innings) at 44.50. This was his maiden 50-plus score in ODIs.
Information
Partnership records for the duo
The 191-run stand between Atal and Abdul is now Afghanistan's highest partnership for the opening wicket against Zimbabwe in ODIs. It's also their 2nd-best stand (any wicket) against Zimbabwe.
Abdul
An 84-run knock from Abdul's blade
Abdul scored 84 from 101 balls. His knock had 11 fours and a six.
In three ODIs for Afghanistan, Abdul now owns 93 runs from 2 innings at 46.50. This was his 10th fifty in List A cricket. He also owns six tons.
In 47 List A matches, he has 1,844 runs at over 47.
Information
These Zimbabwe bowlers were amongst the wickets
Nyamhuri managed 3/53 from his 10 overs and was the pick of the bowlers. Despite bowling two maidens, Trevor Gwandu conceded 70 runs from his 10 overs. He picked two scalps. Richard Ngarava was the other wicket-taker (1/49 from 10 overs).
Records
Unwanted records for Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe have posted their joint-lowest ODI team total against Afganistan. They had also been out for 54 back in 2017 in Harare.
Overall, this is Zimbabwe's joint-4th-lowest total in ODIs.
Zimbabwe were all out for 35 and 38 versus Sri Lanka in 2004 and 2001 respectively. In 2009, they were folded for 38 by Bangladesh.
AFG bowlers
50 ODI scalps for Farooqi; Ghazanfar averages 15.75
Fazalhaq Farooqi was sensational for the visitors. He took 2/15 from six overs (2 maidens).
Farooqi has now raced to 50 ODI scalps for Afghanistan. He averages 31.78. He is now the 7th Afghan bowler with 50-plus ODI scalps.
Azmatullah Omarzai took 1/17 from 5 overs. He owns 29 wickets at 32.93.
In 10 ODIs, Ghazanfar has 16 scalps at 15.75 (ER: 4.17).
Information
Raza is the lone warrior for Zimbabwe
Sikandar Raza was the lone warrior for Zimbabwe with an unbeaten 19 from 32 balls. He slammed three fours. He shared a 21-run stand alongside Sean Williams for the 5th wicket.
Reaction
Hashmatullah Shahidi pleased with his side's performance
Afganistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi said he was happy with his side's performance.
"Very impressed with the way openers batted, it was not an easy wicket to bat on. We have outclassed them in all departments and really happy with the win," he said.
He credited his team for performing as a unit with both bat and ball.
Do you know?
Biggest win for Afghanistan in ODIs (runs)
With this 232-run win, Afghanistan posted their biggest victory in ODI cricket in terms of runs. Their previous best tally was a 177-run victory over South Africa in September 2024.