Afghanistan delivered a dominant all-round performance in the UAE ODI tri-series, crushing Zimbabwe by 158 runs in Abu Dhabi. Despite the heavy defeat, Zimbabwe missed a golden opportunity to secure an early berth in the tournament’s final, needing only 196 runs to qualify. Instead, their batting order suffered a dramatic collapse, getting bowled out for just 136 inside 39 overs.
With this result, the triangular series remains finely balanced heading into the final fixture. Afghanistan and Zimbabwe currently sit on two points each, leaving the upcoming clash between Afghanistan and Bangladesh as the decisive match to determine who advances to Friday’s championship game. All three participating teams still maintain a mathematical chance of making the final, setting up a high-stakes finish to the tournament.
The foundation for Afghanistan’s imposing total of 294 was laid by a magnificent second-wicket partnership between Sediqullah Atal and Ibrahim Zadran. After opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz provided a brisk start at the top of the innings, Zadran took charge, playing fluent strokes all around the ground to register his 11th ODI half-century. Atal, initially taking his time to settle into the white-ball rhythm, gradually found his timing and anchored the innings alongside his partner.
The duo put on a commanding 140-run stand that put the Afghan side firmly in control. Zadran looked entirely untroubled and seemed destined for a well-deserved century before Brad Evans broke the partnership. Zadran fell for 90 when he was caught at deep square leg, marking the fourth time in his One-Day International career that he has been dismissed in the nineties.
Following Zadran’s departure, Afghanistan suffered a minor middle-order wobble as captain Rahmat Shah and Azmatullah Omarzai fell cheaply. Recognizing the need to stabilize the innings, Atal shifted into a more restrictive approach. He added 42 valuable runs for the fifth wicket with Hashmatullah Shahidi, successfully reaching his third ODI hundred before eventually holing out in the 45th run-scoring over with the team total past 250.
Afghanistan’s innings, however, ended with a flurry of wickets as they lost their last six wickets for just 35 runs in the space of 5.2 overs. Bowlers Ernest Masuku and Brad Evans did the damage for Zimbabwe during the death overs, picking up three wickets apiece to restrict the Afghan total to 294. Despite the late slide, the target proved to be far beyond Zimbabwe’s reach.
Chasing 295 for victory—and needing 196 to secure their qualification for the final—Zimbabwe’s top order crumbled for the second consecutive match. Having previously slipped to 24 for 3 against Bangladesh, the Zimbabwean batsmen found themselves in an even deeper hole at 43 for 4 inside 13 overs.
Left-arm seamer Fazalhaq Farooqi struck early, cleaning up Ben Curran for a duck in the third over with a delivery that nipped back sharply off the seam. Although Brian Bennett attempted a brief counterattack with a spirited boundary and a six, the pressure mounted quickly. Tafadzwa Tsiga chased a wide delivery from Farooqi outside the off stump and was easily caught behind for two.
The collapse deepened in the eighth over when Brendan Taylor was run out for one after wandering too far out of his crease, falling victim to a direct hit from Azmatullah Omarzai. Drama unfolded moments later in the same over when Omarzai clean-bowled Bennett, only for the batsman to immediately protest that Omarzai’s handkerchief had fallen from his person during his bowling run-up. Following a brief deliberation, the umpires called it a dead ball.
Bennett’s reprieve was brief. He added only a few more runs before being trapped leg-before-wicket by spinner AM Ghazanfar for 31 off 40 balls, leaving Zimbabwe reeling at 43 for 4 and needing a rescue act.
Facing a dire situation, veteran Sikandar Raza and Ryan Burl adopted a cautious approach, attempting to rebuild the innings through patient accumulation. Raza opened his account with a spectacular upper-cut six off Ziaur Rahman, and Burl contributed a boundary, but the pair subsequently entered a prolonged defensive phase, going nearly 13 overs without finding the boundary rope.
During this arduous partnership, Raza was granted a pair of crucial lives. Omarzai first dropped him on 20 after running in from the deep-square-leg boundary, and shortly afterward, a 24-year-old Raza edged a delivery from Ghazanfar to the slips, where another catch was put down.
The boundary drought finally broke in the 30th over when Raza pulled Ziaur Rahman to the fence. Burl followed suit by hammering Mohammad Nabi for his second four, raising hopes of a late-innings recovery through a 64-run fifth-wicket partnership. However, the introduction of leg-spinner Rashid Khan into the attack triggered a devastating collapse.
Rashid broke the partnership by trapping Burl lbw for 31 with a skidding delivery that struck the front pad. Wessley Madhevere was next to fall, undone by a delivery that kept unusually low and struck his back pad directly in line with the middle stump. In Rashid’s very next over, Raza’s resistance ended when a sharp googly breached his defense and shattered his stumps. Raza departed for 48 off 80 balls, and Zimbabwe plummeted from a stable 107 for 4 to a precarious 124 for 7.
The tailenders offered little resistance against the disciplined Afghan bowling attack. Brad Evans became Nabi’s first wicket of the match, caught at deep midwicket after attempting another aggressive shot. Rashid then returned to rattle Ernest Masuku’s middle stump for a duck, before a direct hit from the deep by Ziaur Rahman caught Richard Masakadza short of his ground to officially seal the emphatic victory.
Rashid finished with brilliant figures, claiming four wickets for just 17 runs, while Farooqi chipped in with two wickets to cap off a comprehensive bowling display that ensured Afghanistan comfortably defended their total and kept their tournament ambitions alive.
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