Atal hundred, Rashid four-for help Afghanistan crush Zimbabwe by 158 runs

Afghanistan handed Zimbabwe a heavy 158-run defeat in Abu Dhabi on Monday, 19 October, in the second match of the UAE ODI tri-series, with a hundred from Sediqullah Atal and a four-wicket burst from Rashid Khan doing most of the damage. Bangladesh are the third side in the competition.

Electing to bat after winning the toss, as Amu TV reported, Afghanistan were dismissed for 294. Zimbabwe never threatened the target and folded for 136 in 38.4 overs.

Atal and Zadran set it up

Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who made 25, gave the innings a brisk start before Atal and Ibrahim Zadran put on 140 for the second wicket. Zadran was the more fluent early on, but fell 10 short of a hundred when Brad Evans had him caught in the deep for 90. ESPNcricinfo noted it was the fourth time he has been dismissed in the nineties in ODIs.

Cheap wickets for captain Rahmat Shah and Azmatullah Omarzai forced Atal to bat with more caution. He shared a 42-run stand with Hashmatullah Shahidi (28) on the way to 102, his third ODI century, and was named player of the match. Once he was out in the 45th over with the score beyond 250, Afghanistan lost their last six wickets for 35. Ernest Masuku took 3 for 44 and Evans 3 for 48 for Zimbabwe.

Rashid strikes after Zimbabwe’s slow rebuild

Zimbabwe’s top order wobbled again. Fazalhaq Farooqi bowled Ben Curran for a duck in the third over and later removed Tafadzwa Tsiga, while Brendan Taylor was run out for 1 by a direct hit from Omarzai. Brian Bennett briefly survived being bowled by Omarzai when umpire Ahsan Raza ruled it a dead ball after the bowler’s handkerchief dropped during his run-up, according to ESPNcricinfo, but AM Ghazanfar trapped him lbw for 31 to leave Zimbabwe on 43 for 4.

Sikandar Raza and Ryan Burl then added 64, going almost 13 overs without a boundary. Raza was dropped twice. Rashid ended the resistance, trapping Burl lbw for 31, beating Wessley Madhevere with a low delivery and bowling Raza for 48 with a googly. He finished with 4 for 17, Farooqi took 2 for 15, and Mohammad Nabi chipped in with one wicket before a run-out closed the innings.

Final race still open

The margin mattered: ESPNcricinfo reported that Zimbabwe would have booked a place in Friday’s final had they reached 196. Instead, Afghanistan and Zimbabwe sit on two points each, and all three sides can still qualify. The last league game, Afghanistan against Bangladesh on Wednesday, 21 October, will settle the line-up for the final.

There is a small difference in how the result was framed. Amu TV described it as Afghanistan’s opening game of the series, which it was for them, while ESPNcricinfo listed it as the competition’s second fixture, after Zimbabwe’s earlier game against Bangladesh.

Sources: ESPNcricinfo, Amu TV, Ariana News