da blaze casino： After scoring just 127, Zimbabwe had a chance with Afghanistan at 45 for 4, but they let the advantage slip
da leao： Himanshu Agrawal14-Dec-2024Afghanistan were down at 45 for 4 after seven overs in their pursuit of 128 to beat Zimbabwe in the third T20I, and with that, win the series. That could have been the point at which the game went Zimbabwe’s way. But Faraz Akram then bowled an 11-ball over with five wides to give Afghanistan the breathing space they needed, and the fifth-wicket pair of Azmatullah Omarzai and Gulbadin Naib eased into the repair job.Later, Akram’s bowling colleagues worked hard enough to dismiss Omarzai, Naib and Rashid Khan, and leave Afghanistan needing seven runs in the final over to win the game. But the first ball of the 20th, bowled again by Akram, went for four, and Mohammad Nabi wrapped the chase up with three balls remaining.A sloppy Zimbabwe eventually ended up giving away 17 extras, and have now lost all six of their bilateral T20I series against Afghanistan.[File photo] Brian Bennett has been Zimbabwe’s best batter of late•AFP/Getty Images
Bennett continues to scoreAfter contributing in the T20Is against Pakistan prior to this series, Brian Bennett ended as the highest run-getter across the two sides against Afghanistan with 107 runs. He slapped and sliced Naveen-ul-Haq for fours in the third over, as Zimbabwe went on to put up 31 in four overs despite losing Tadiwanashe Marumani early after being asked to bat.Bennett was the third to fall when he swung Omarzai to Naveen at deep midwicket, having hit four boundaries in his 24-ball 31. Zimbabwe were 57 for 3 one ball into the ninth over, and the slowdown had begun.Rashid runs through lower-middle orderFrom being 78 for 3 in the 11th over, Zimbabwe found themselves at 106 for 9 after 17. Rashid bagged four of those six wickets.But the slide had started with Sikandar Raza running out of luck. After a leading edge went over point and a top edge fell short of fine leg in the 11th over, Raza holed out to long leg off Mujeeb Ur Rahman.Mujeeb then had Wessly Madhevere caught for 21, after which Rashid weaved his magic. He trapped Akram in front, had Tashinga Musekiwa pulling to midwicket, saw Richard Ngarava chip to cover off a googly, and pinned Blessingh Muzarabani in front. The last three of those wickets all fell in the 17th over, as Rashid finished with 4 for 27. Although Wellington Masakadza scored 17 not out and added 21 with Trevor Gwandu for the last wicket, Zimbabwe’s 127 was below par.[File photo] Rashid Khan picked up four wickets, including three in one over•Getty Images
Bowlers give Zimbabwe a chanceNgarava and Muzarabani got some extra bounce with the new ball, leaving Afghanistan at 9 for 2 three overs into the chase. Muzarabani struck first, when he had Sediqullah Atal tickling behind to Marumani. Ngarava then had Zubaid Akbari slashing behind to Marumani, as the ball kicked up from outside off.Rahmanullah Gurbaz then cut and clipped Muzarabani for fours in the fourth over, and he and Darwish Rasooli picked 11 runs off the fifth. But Muzarabani, bowling his third over in a row, found Rasooli’s leading edge, as the ball looped up to point.Raza then brought Gwandu into the attack, and some luck went Zimbabwe’s way immediately. A short ball skidded through without bouncing, and got Gurbaz out lbw. Afghanistan were 44 for 4, but Zimbabwe couldn’t capitalise.Omarzai, Naib and Nabi take Afghanistan homeThe over in which Akram bowled five wides went for ten runs, and Afghanistan hardly looked in trouble after that. Omarzai cut and pulled for boundaries during his stand with Naib, as they otherwise ticked along steadily – they added 48 for the fifth wicket, with the required rate below six runs an over.That is when Raza turned one into Naib, and had him lbw for a run-a-ball 22. Omarzai and new batter Nabi kept going mostly with ones and twos – although Nabi drove Ngarava for four on one occasion – but Raza got a simple return catch from Omarzai, who scored 34 from 37 balls.Afghanistan were left needing another 12 runs from nine balls as things got tight, but Nabi dabbed Gwandu for four behind point to settle the nerves. When he got the boundary to start the final over, bowled by Akram, victory was all but sealed.
