Match

Afghanistan won by 7 wkts

• Zimbabwe: 79/10 (14.3 overs)
• Afghanistan: 81/3 (8.1 overs)

Zimbabwe - 79/10 (14.3 overs)

Extras: 12

Afghanistan - 81/3 (8.1 overs)

Extras: 4

Commentary

• A whitewash by Afghanistan and Zimbabwe have a lot of things to ponder as we move to the Tests next. That starts on the 5th of November in Sharjah. Will a change of format bring a change in fortunes for Zimbabwe? We will wait and see. We will be there nice and early for the 1st Test. Do join us then. For now that's it from all of us here. Bye bye and take care.
• Ibrahim Zadran is presented the winning trophy and he is all smiles. Then he gives it to Abdullah Tarakhail as the entire Afghanistan contingent pose as a group for the cameras.
• Ibrahim 2/2: [On assessing the team's overall performance, including the top order and middle-order contributions] I'm very satisfied. There were so many positive things, as you mentioned. We haven't done well in the top order in the first two games. Today, we were quite, you know, good with the start. But if you look at the middle overs, the way Azmat batted, Ijaz batted and Rashid finished in the last two games, it was brilliant. That's a positive sign. If you're going to play against top teams, if you cover that area, then you are not going to struggle. Yes, we didn't have a good series in the top order, but we had a very good start in the powerplay. So, we will think about it and try to sort out, you know, this area as soon as we can. [On sending a message in Pashto to the Afghanistan fans who have supported the team throughout the series] من بچه راغلي مونږ به تشویق کولو هر لوبې ته چې مینه راکوله نو همیشه تاسو نه هیله ده چې په خپلو دعاګانو کې خپل اتلان یا ساتئ. که ښه لوبه کوو که خرابه لوبه کوو، تاسو سپورټ یا اتلانو سره ډېر ضروري ده چې مینه تشویق نه منئ. English translation: You have come and encouraged us at every game and shown us love. I always ask you to remember your heroes in your prayers. Whether we play well or badly, your support and encouragement are very important to us. Keep showing us your love and support.
• Ibrahim Zadran | Afghanistan captain 1/2: [On Afghanistan's overall performance and winning the T20I series against Zimbabwe] Very good series. I'm so happy, you know, with the overall performance and the energy the guys put in. In each and every game, they have shown discipline. That's why, you know, we won three in a row. They have played very good cricket. [On whether he felt pressure as captain, given Afghanistan's previous record of never losing a series to Zimbabwe] To be honest, I heard about it, but I didn't think about it. I was just thinking that we would try to go with a positive mindset and give 100 percent. Then we cannot think about the result. What we can think about is only the process, which is, you know, in our hands. This is what we were doing in every game, and yeah, we just delivered that. And every game, we got the result.
• Raza 2/2: [On the team's batting collapse and being bowled out for 79 in today's match] We've been here before. One thing, for as long as I'm playing, I'll never give up on the boys. I know how hard they work, how much effort they put in. Sometimes these lessons are very important for your own personal growth. But what I would be encouraging them to do is try not to waste these opportunities. Every time you put on the jersey, when you've had a bad game or when you've had a bad tour, try and learn from those lessons and try to be better. If Zimbabwe rocks up for the next tour and does exactly the same, then that means we haven't taken our lessons from the previous tour. And that's where the real problem starts. A lot of the onus is on the boys as well. But from my side, I'll not give up on these boys. I know they have it in them. They just have to find it, and I have to help them find it. [On Zimbabwe's preparation for the upcoming Test match] Yeah, the red-ball squad has been training. So, the six boys that are not part of the white-ball squad have been training pretty well with the coaching staff as well. The rest of the boys have had a decent look at the wicket and decent conditions as well these days. So, I know the Test match will start in the morning, but I'm very sure that that is a format where everybody, if fit, will be a very evenly contested series. We want to be very evenly matched, and I hope that everyone keeps fit.
• Sikandar Raza | Zimbabwe captain 1/2: [On the lessons Zimbabwe have taken from the T20I series in Sharjah, particularly with the bat] I think the new-ball bowling has been fantastic. But I think for us to go forward, we have to understand how to play spinners a lot better and how to play the swinging ball. So, I think if there are two lessons from a batting point of view, it's how to deal with a swinging ball, those guys who swing it, because that has troubled us, and how to play some spin. I think those two lessons need to be learned because every team you play these days has got some swing bowlers and some mystery spinners as well. And so, I think for Zimbabwe to go forward, those are the two areas. On the plus side, I thought the seam department has done really well. [On the strength and depth of Zimbabwe's seam-bowling department, including Kundai Matigimu, Blessing Muzarabani, Ernest Masuku and Wellington Masakadaza] Yeah, certainly. I'd like to add Brad Evans there as well. Brad has bowled really well. Credit to Brad as well. Brad does his job with the first change. Brad comes on, bowls the second over as well, bowls the first over as well. He has also been [unclear]. So, I think we are building something here. But I do think that these guys have carried us. Unfortunately, the batting department has let the seam department down as well. But as a team collectively, there have been positives. But for me, the negatives, or should I say the lessons that we've taken on, outweigh the positives that we've had.
• Azmatullah Omarzai | Player of the Series: [On winning the Player of the Series award for the first time and dedicating it to his elder brother] I feel really happy to get this award. It's my first time getting Player of the Series, and I want to dedicate this award to my big brother (Nawab Umarzai). He's always supporting me, and he is my coach, my personal coach. That's why I want to dedicate this trophy to him. [On his elder brother being a wonderful person and an excellent coach, and asking about his performances with both bat and ball] Honestly, I always enjoy my batting, and whenever I get an opportunity, I want to score more runs. I enjoy my batting, and my favourite is batting. That's why I enjoy it more. [On his favourite shots as a batsman] I think my favourite shot is the cover drive towards mid-off. I love to play that shot. [On his bowling performance, wicket celebration, big six and subsequent back pain] We were trying to have fun there, but Sediqullah was trying to pull me up, and then I went down. That's why my back is paining now. [On whether he is still experiencing pain] Yeah, it's okay now. [On the Afghanistan Premier League (APL) and the opportunities it offers young Afghan cricketers] It's a great opportunity for the youngsters and for Afghanistan cricket. I want to tell our youngsters: when they come here and play in the APL, they should work on their fitness, keep their focus on domestic cricket, come here and enjoy their cricket. It will improve our cricket after the APL, inshallah. I hope we have good youngsters in domestic cricket. If they get highlighted here and play against good teams and great players, they will learn a lot here, and inshallah, they will take more from this experience.
• Noor Ahmad | Player of the Match: [On having Rashid Khan as a mentor and working on specific aspects of his bowling] Yeah, we've been chatting a lot, especially in this series. We started working on some specific things, and I think that worked a lot in the game. But it's still not 100 percent. It's still like 60 or 70 percent, but I need to do a lot of work on that thing to make it 100 percent. But yeah, I think Rashid is someone that, anytime I have any doubts in my mind, he's my go-to person. And yeah, I'm grateful to him for the guidance. [On learning to use the 24-yard delivery that Rashid Khan often employs] Yeah, it's true. Even in the game that I bowled the last one in Cardiff, he told me to bowl from far. And I applied that, and I got a wicket. He's a legend. [On narrowly missing out on a hat-trick and whether he should have given the ball more air after the hat-trick delivery] Yeah, true. I think I should have bowled my best ball for the hat-trick one. But, to be honest, I was struggling a little bit with my hamstring. And like I said, I wasn't 100 percent, but still I pushed myself. So, inshallah, next time I'll try to be 100 percent.
• Tarakhail 2/2: [On the inspiration behind his unusual bowling action, compared with Lasith Malinga and Shaun Tait] If I talk about that, I have also followed fast bowlers. It is my natural action. My coaches have always told me during practice that I should not make changes to it. They tell me that the action I have naturally is very good. So that is the reason. There is nothing particularly special behind it.
• Abdullah Tarakhail | Translated from Pashto 1/2: [On receiving his 73rd cap from Rashid Khan and what the occasion meant to him] I am very happy. It was a day of great honour and happiness for me. It is every player's dream and ambition to play at the international level. I am happy because I had messaged Rashid Khan back in 2023, saying that, Inshallah, one day you will see me standing alongside you in the Afghanistan jersey, and I will make my debut with you. So today, I received my cap from Rashid Khan, and that is a very happy moment for me. I would also like to thank my entire team and the coaches, because they make me feel as though I am not playing at the national level but rather in domestic cricket. I thank everyone for giving me so much support. [On his first international wicket, dismissing the in-form Sikandar Raza, and the advice he received from Ibrahim Zadran and Rashid Khan] When I was standing with Ibrahim, he told me that whatever you are best at, just do that. There is no need to do anything extra. I trusted myself. I didn't think I would come into the circle, but suddenly Ibrahim called me and told me that I would bowl. However, I was mentally prepared for it. I had a lot of confidence in myself. Obviously, there is always some pressure for a player playing his first international match, but I was mentally ready, and I also had the support of the team. So I just concentrated on my bowling, did what I had to do, and that is how Sikandar's wicket came.
• 20:51 Local Time, 16:51 GMT, 22:21 IST: A thrashing this as Afghanistan clean-sweep Zimbabwe. Smiles from Azmatullah Omarzai and Ibrahim Zadran as they chat while Sikandar Raza just puts his head down and walks off. He will vent it out in the post-match presentation. That's for sure. I will be keenly listening to what he says. This was an easy chase once Zimbabwe folded for 79. Mohammad Akram started in a hurry and wanted to end this very early but after a hat-trick of fours, he fell to Muzarabani in the opening over. Masuku struck twice in one over to bring some cheer for his side but the eventual result was never in doubt. The whole game lasted 22.4 overs and if there was one moment which summed up Zimbabwe's fortunes tonight, then it was Tadiwanashe Marumani's drop of Omarzai and the subsequent reactions from Muzarabani and Raza. Stay tuned for the post-match stuff....
• 8.1: Vincent Masekesa to Azmatullah Omarzai, SIX, Azmatullah Omarzai ends things with a big six. It's a half-tracker on middle-stump, Omarzai goes on the back foot and pulls, way back over wide long-on. Flies into the top-tier and into the crowd. Omarzai goes to Ibrahim Zadran to pat him and then the post-match formalities begin
• Vincent Masekesa, right-arm leg break, comes into the attack
• 7.6: Blessing Muzarabani to Ibrahim Zadran, no run, short of length and tight on off, no room at all, Ibrahim Zadran defends it back and Blessing Muzarabani sticks out a left hand to stop it
• 7.5: Blessing Muzarabani to Ibrahim Zadran, no run, back of a length on middle, tucks up Ibrahim Zadran who goes on the back foot and turns it to mid-wicket
• 7.4: Blessing Muzarabani to Azmatullah Omarzai, 1 run, short of length outside off, Azmatullah Omarzai goes on the back foot and opens the face of the bat to run it down to third man
• 7.3: Blessing Muzarabani to Azmatullah Omarzai, no run, that sums up Zimbabwe's performance today. Blessing Muzarabani is aghast. The camera pans to Raza who is chewing his gum and just looks serious. Dropped by Tadiwanashe Marumani. Length delivery on middle, Azmatullah Omarzai backs away to loft, the thick outside edge and Marumani initally wanted to reverse-cup that, then as it comes to him, he changes his mind and goes the conventional way. Drops it. Still has a chance at the rebound, but can't grab that. Muzarabani lets out his emotions as he's not happy at all. Raza too the same, but he does well not to show it on camera
• 7.2: Blessing Muzarabani to Azmatullah Omarzai, 2 runs, short of length and hard length again, on middle-stump, Azmatullah Omarzai gets forward to pull, doesn't time it but manages to clear mid-wicket who prevents the boundary
• 7.1: Blessing Muzarabani to Azmatullah Omarzai, no run, short of length and hard length on off, Azmatullah Omarzai goes on the back foot to defend to the right of backward point. Sent back by Ibrahim Zadran
• Blessing Muzarabani [2.0-0-28-1] is back into the attack