Azmatullah Omarzai smacked a brilliant century and Ijaz Ahmed Ahmadzai scored a fifty as Afghanistan staged a miraculous recovery to beat gritty Zimbabwe in the second T20 and seal the series.
It was another run fest as more than 400 runs were scored, featuring a century each by both the teams.
After posting a huge total of 221/7, Afghanistan restricted Zimbabwe to 202/5. Chasing Zimbabwe got off to a promising start as they looked set to redeem for their mistakes.
But they failed to carry on the momentum and kept on losing the wickets at regular intervals. Sikander Raza tried to keep the chase alive with a fighting century but he did not get enough support from the other end. Raza showed a spirit of a true sportsman, waging the lone battle single-handedly.
To his dismay, he could not carry Zimbabwe over the line as they fell short of target by 19 runs. Raza remained unbeaten on 106 off 56 balls, hitting nine sixes and five boundaries.
Earlier, Zimbabwe once again failed to capitalise on the dream start. They spurned a golden opportunity to beat Afghanistan and level the series. Zimbabwe were trailing in the series 1-0 and it was a must-win game for them.
After dismissing top five batsmen of Afghanistan, Zimbabwe bowlers became complacent and paid the price for it. What would have been a dull match, Zimbabwe’s bowlers made it a spectacle.
The credit for the turnaround of the match goes as much to Zimbabwe bowlers as Afghan batters. Afghanistan were written off within the first five overs of the match but they made a stunning comeback, courtesy to wayward bowling of Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe bowlers wiped out the top order in just four overs. Three of the Afghanistan top batsmen were dismissed for a duck as they were tottering at 5/4 in four overs. The match looked set to get over at half-time.
Afghanistan lost four wickets with just five runs on the board. Three top batsmen — Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Mohammad Akram and Shahidullah failed to get off the mark.
Afghanistan had hit just one boundary in the first ten overs. They were 45/5 at the mid-way. In the last ten overs, Afghanistan smashed 176 runs at an astonishing average of 17.6 runs per over. Of the 176 runs, 120 came in the last five overs. If broken down into simple math, every ball of the last five overs fetched a boundary.
It was Brad Evans who triggered the collapse by sending back Gurbaz for a duck. In his next over he got rid of Akram who also failed to open his account.
Akram holed out to Masekesa. Matigimu also sprang into action. He struck on successive deliveries to make it 5/4. Matiguma uprooted the stumps of captain Ibrahim Zadran to make it 4/3 and had Shahidullah caught by Marumani.
Afghanistan were in tatters and needed a big partnership to revive the innings. But more misery was in store for them. Sadiqullah Atal and Azmatullah Omarzai added 33 runs for the fifth wicket to take the score to 38/4.
When Masekesa got rid of Atal, it looked like the last nail in the coffin. But Omarzai had different plans. He took the command in his hands and started leading the charge. It was in the 11th over, Omarzai changed his gears. He collected 15 runs off Burl with the help of two sixes.
After that there was no looking back. That over not only took the pressure off Afghanistan but brought Zimbabwe under pressure.
After the eventful 11th over, Zimbabwe conceded runs in double digit in every over. Both Omarzai and Ahamedzai combined to put the faltering back on track. They added 142 runs for the sixth wicket in just 8.5 overs.
Zimbabwe bowlers looked hapless and harmless. They were left figuring out how to stop the flow of the runs. Oamrzai and Ahmadzai were in a devastating mood. They threw away everything out of the boundary rope that was hurled at them.
Azmatullah reached his fifty in just 30 balls with a boundary. The next 20 balls of his innings produced 66 runs. He smashed 12 sixes and five fours, which means 92 out of 116 runs came in boundaries.
Ahmadzai was also not left behind. He also complemented his partner by playing firebrand cricket. Ahmadzai smacked four boundaries off Musuka in the 18th over to bring up his fifty in just 25 balls. His innings featured five fours and three huge sixes.
Meanwhile, Omarzai took 27 runs off Evans in the 17th over to complete his maiden century in the T20Is. He became the only batsman in the world to score a century in a T20, playing at number six.
Raza got rid of Omarzai in the 19th over but conceded 15 off it after Masuku had sent Ahmadzai back to the pavilion.
Zimbabwe heaved a sigh of relief after the dismissal of Omarzai, oblivion of the catastrophe that was about to come. Star spinner Rashid Khan’s late blitz turned it on Zimbabwe. He plundered 25 runs off the six balls. Rashid smashed four towering sixes in the last over as Afghanistan recovered from 5/4 to post 221/7 — their third highest total in T20s.
This is Afghanistan’s 17th win in their last 19 matches. Afghanistan have dominated Zimbabwe heavily in T20s. In head-to-head record, Afghanistan have notched up 17 wins in 19 T20s, dating back from 2014 in bilateral series.
Afghanistan defeated Zimbabwe in eight consecutive T20 matches from 2015-2021. It took Zimbabwe six years to break the jinx when they procured a victory in 2021 finally. But the story did not end there. Their last win against Afghanistan came in 2024 after another losing streak of six matches and three long years. The wait is on since then again.
Both the rare wins have come batting second. Zimbabwe are not at par with their Asian counterparts, who are almost 20 years younger than they are in international cricket.
Afghanistan have outclassed their African rivals in all the departments of the game. The average batting total in the last 19 matches are 175 and 148 for Afghanistan and Zimbabwe respectively. At the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, both the teams have faced off five times, with the result going in Afghanistan’s favour in all instances. Afghanistan broke their previous highest of 215 agaisnt Zimbabwe at the same venue.
In bowling, star spinner Rashid Khan leads the chart with 34 scalps. He is followed by Zimbabwe’s Blessings Muzarabani with 14 wickets. To the dismay of Zimbabwe, their most successful bowler is not in the fold. Despite all the odds stacked against them, there is still a lot to play for because cricket is by chance.