Rashid Khan, Ibrahim Zadran Help Afghanistan Beat Zimbabwe In 2nd T20I To Bag Series

Spinner Rashid Khan and batter Ibrahim Zadran were pivotal in Afghanistan’s seven-wicket victory over Zimbabwe on Friday, securing the three-match Twenty20 series with one game remaining.

Zimbabwe opted to bat first after winning the toss but were all out for 125 at Harare Sports Club. Afghanistan chased the target successfully, finishing at 129-3 with 12 balls to spare.

Zimbabwe Vs Afghanistan: 2nd T20I – Highlights

Following a heavy defeat in a one-off Test, the tourists had already won the first T20 by 53 runs on Wednesday. The final T20, which is now a dead rubber, will be played on Sunday.

Rashid Khan delivered an impressive performance, taking 3-9, which included the crucial wicket of Zimbabwe’s captain Sikandar Raza. Raza top-scored for Zimbabwe with

37 off 32 balls, including four fours, before being caught and bowled by Khan. He struggled with a delivery aimed at the off stump, hitting the ball straight to the 27-year-old Afghan skipper. Khan struck again three balls later in the 16th over, as his googly resulted in Tashinga Musekiwa (13) being caught by Mohammad Nabi at long on.

The 24-run partnership for the sixth wicket between Raza and Musekiwa was the best effort for Zimbabwe, who faced difficulties after the early dismissals of top-order batters Dion Myers (six) and Brendan Taylor (three). Brad Evans (12) was another victim of Khan, trapped leg before while attempting a sweep as Zimbabwe sought runs towards the end of their innings.

For the second consecutive T20, Zadran top-scored for Afghanistan, remaining unbeaten with 57 runs, marking his 12th T20 half-century after scoring 52 runs on Wednesday. His 51-ball innings included seven fours. Azmatullah Omarzai, his fourth-wicket partner, hit the match and series-winning four past long off.

Sikandar Raza revealed his post-match talk to his team.

“All I said was, gentlemen, we have defended this total and even lower than that against some of the better teams as well. So I’ll not hold you accountable for the results, but I will hold you accountable for the effort , energy and attitude. And I thought the guys tried really well as well. Unfortunately, sometimes you defend these kinds of totals, but more often than not, it’s very tough to defend. Especially at Harare Sports Club, because of the big ground and big pockets as well. So I cannot fault the boys for effort and energy and attitude. I thought they all were hungry. They were trying their hardest, but unfortunately it wasn’t to be,” the Zimbabwe captain revealed.

Rashid Khan, on the other hand, is already looking ahead to the big tournament next year.

“The big thing is the World Cup coming and how we’re going to go as a team there. We had a great World Cup last year. We went to semi-final. But for us, the target is how we’re going to manage ourselves and learn from our mistakes in the series we had before. Losses come, but as long as we learn from it and we improve,” the Afghanistan skipper said.

(With inputs from Agencies)