ZIM vs AFG, 1st T20I: Zimbabwe stun Afghanistan by 4 wickets in last ball thriller, lead series 1-0

Zimbabwe clinched a thrilling four-wicket victory over Afghanistan in the opening T20I of their three-match series at the Harare Sports Club. The home team successfully chased down a target of 145 runs on the last ball of the match, marking their first win against Afghanistan since 2019 and giving them a 1-0 lead in the series.

Despite being in a precarious position at 128 for 7, Zimbabwe managed to pull off a remarkable comeback in the final two overs. Tashinga Musekiwa played a crucial role in guiding his team to victory, remaining unbeaten on 16*, while Wellington Masakadza contributed an explosive 6* off just 2 balls. The match went down to the wire, with Musekiwa sealing the win for Zimbabwe with a last-ball strike off Azmatullah Omarzai's final over.

In the earlier stages of the game, Richard Ngarava and Blessing Muzarabani made significant breakthroughs by dismissing key Afghan batsmen. Ngarava removed opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Mohammad Ishaq early on, while Muzarabani got rid of Hazratullah Zazai in the final over of the powerplay. By the halfway mark, Afghanistan was struggling at 58-5.

Trevor Gwandu and Wellington Masakadza continued to put pressure on the Afghan batting lineup, taking crucial wickets to further dent their hopes of posting a competitive total. However, Karim Janat and Mohammad Nabi staged a remarkable recovery with a 79-run partnership for the sixth wicket. Janat played a composed innings, finishing unbeaten on 54* off 49 balls, while Nabi provided some much-needed aggression with a quickfire 44 off 27 balls.

Ultimately, Afghanistan managed to reach a respectable total of 144-6 by the end of their 20 overs, setting up an exciting finish to the match.

Ngarava made a triumphant return to the pitch to secure the key wicket of Nabi in the penultimate over, boasting impressive figures of 3-28 from his four overs. Despite Afghanistan's challenging total of 144, Zimbabwe's batting lineup showed determination and resilience.

The Zimbabwean chase began strongly with openers Tadiwanashe Marumani and Brian Bennett at the helm. Marumani was unfortunately dismissed early on by Naveen-ul-Haq, but Bennett, accompanied by Dion Myers, steadied the ship. The duo formed a crucial 75-run partnership for the second wicket, with Bennett showcasing patience and skill to score 49 runs off 49 balls, while Myers contributed 32 runs off 29 balls, including a few boundaries and a six.

However, Afghanistan's bowlers staged a comeback. Mohammad Nabi removed Myers, and spinners Rashid Khan and Naveen-ul-Haq inflicted further damage, leading to a collapse in the middle order. Naveen impressed with figures of 3-33, dismissing Sikandar Raza and Wessly Madhevere, while Rashid Khan bowled tightly to dismiss Bennett and Ryan Burl, finishing with figures of 2-26.

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