Afghanistan 294 (Atal 102, Zadran 90, Masuku 3-44, Evans 3-48) beat Zimbabwe 136 (Raza 48, Rashid 4-17, Farooqi 2-15) by 158 runs
As it stands, all three teams in the competition have a shot at qualifying for Sunday’s final. Afghanistan and Zimbabwe are currently on two points each and Afghanistan vs Bangladesh is the only game left, on Wednesday.
Zimbabwe’s top order crashed for a second time in as many games, and this time there was no rescue act. They were 24 for 3 against Bangladesh, and this time they slipped to 43 for 4 in 13 overs. Fazalhaq Farooqi cleaned up Ben Curran for a duck in the third over with one that nipped back in off the seam. Brian Bennett tried to counterattack with a six and a four. Tafadzwa Tsiga, however, chased Farooqi outside off stump, only to get caught behind for 2.
Brendan Taylor was run out for 1 in the eighth over when he wandered out of the crease too far, with Azmatullah Omarzai nonchalantly getting a direct hit. Later in the same over, Omarzai clean bowled Bennett, only for the latter to protest immediately that Omarzai’s handkerchief had fallen off of him during his run-up. The umpires deliberated briefly, before Ahsan Raza called it a dead ball.
Bennett, however, lasted only a little longer as AM Ghazanfar trapped him lbw for 31 off 40.
With the situation dire at 43 for 4, Sikandar Raza and Ryan Burl decided to slow things down. Raza struck Ziaur Rahman for an upper-cut six, and Burl hit his first four, but after that the pair grafted for nearly 13 overs without a boundary.
During this time, Raza got two lives. Omarzai first dropped him on 20 after running in from the deep-square-leg boundary. Soon, Raza, 24, edged Ghazanfar to slip where the catch wasn’t held.
Finally in the 30th over, Raza pulled Zia to break the boundary drought. Burl also hammered Mohammad Nabi for his second four, before Rashid got into his act with four quick wickets.
He had Burl lbw for 31 with a slider that hit his front pad to end the 64-run fifth-wicket stand. Wessley Madhevere was then undone by a Rashid delivery that kept very low, but hit the batter’s back pad in line with middle stump. Raza fell in Rashid’s next over, losing his stumps to a googly that turned in a mile. Raza finished on 48 off 80 balls and Zimbabwe had slipped from 107 for 4 to 124 for 7.
Brad Evans became Nabi’s first wicket, caught at deep midwicket after hammering the offspinner for a six and a four earlier in the 37th over. Rashid then struck Ernest Masuku’s middle stump for a duck before Ziaur’s throw from the deep caught Masakadza short to seal victory.
Earlier, Zadran and Atal stitched a century stand after Rahmanullah Gurbaz gave Afghanistan a quick start. Zadran did the early running, reaching his 11th half-century with some attractive shots. Atal looked like he was taking a bit of time to get back into the white-ball groove, but soon he also found the boundaries.
Zadran looked in fine touch, as he headed towards a certain century, until Evans had him caught at deep square leg for 90. This was the fourth time Zadran fell in the nineties in ODIs, as Zimbabwe found a lifeline. Afghanistan lost their captain Rahmat Shah and Omarzai cheaply, which meant Atal had to slow down his approach. He added 42 runs for the fifth wicket with Hashmatullah Shahidi, before reaching his third ODI ton.
Atal played in a more restrictive style, first to complement Zadran in their second-wicket partnership, and then to ensure Afghanistan didn’t lose their way. When he holed out in the 45th over with the score past 250, Afghanistan fell apart.
Zimbabwe picked up the last six wickets for just 35 runs in the last 5.2 overs, but in the end, Afghanistan’s score was more than enough to secure a comprehensive win.
Mohammad Isam is Cricinfo’s Bangladesh correspondent. @isam84
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