Ghazanfar five-for leads Afghanistan to ODI series win over below-par Zimbabwe

Afghanistan 131 for 2 (Atal 52, Gwandu 1-27) beat Zimbabwe 127 (Williams 60, Ghazanfar 5-33, Rashid 3-38) by eight wickets

The chase began with just 15 runs from the first six overs, as Zimbabwe kept it tight. But Atal drove and got a top edge for four off Richard Ngarava in the seventh over, and that got Afghanistan going. Although Abdul Malik, the other opener, took his time, Atal attacked from the other end to raise the fifty stand in the 11th over. The partnership ended at 83 when Ngarava had Malik chopping on for 29, before Brian Bennett took a blinder running and diving to his left to send Atal back. Shahidi and Rahmat Shah, however, didn’t have any bothers finishing the job.

Eight of the ten wickets went to Ghazanfar and Rashid, who got 3 for 38. That, though was aa result of both batters not reading them well, and the on-field umpires making debatable calls – perhaps not reading the bowlers well either. In a series where the teams don’t have DRS to turn to, Craig Ervine and Ben Curran walked back unhappy. Even Sikandar Raza shook his head on being given out lbw off Rashid, but whether he did that because he was disappointed with the umpire or with himself… who can tell.

It started with Gumbie top-edging an attempted sweep off Ghazanfar to short fine-leg. Next over, Omarzai got one to seam away from Ervine, who was squared up as the ball went past. Ervine was given out caught behind, but there was no visible nick. Ghazanfar then got his second when he trapped Curran in front for 12 in the ninth over, although the first impression was that the ball was heading down the leg side.

Senior hands Raza and Williams briefly rebuilt thereafter. Williams had 21 runs off his first 22 balls, including three fours and a six, after 14 overs. But come the 16th, Raza’s wicket triggered a period where Zimbabwe lost five wickets for 29 runs. He was hit on the back leg by one which turned in from Rashid, and was adjudged lbw for 13. In his next over, Rashid had Bennett lbw with a googly as well, as Bennett played down the wrong line.

Ghazanfar then got two more back to back, almost in identical fashion. He cleaned up both left-hand batters Tadiwanashe Marumani and Wellington Masakadza in the one over, the 19th of the innings, and each time, going around the wicket, the carrom ball fi the trick. Both batters swung across the line, and left a big gap between bat and pad for the ball to hit the off stump. On the hat-trick ball, Ghazanfar beat Newman Nyamhuri on the outside edge, with Shahidi placing as many as three slips for the right-hander.

Williams, meanwhile, continued ticking at the other end even as he kept running out of partners. He whacked Rashid for four over midwicket, and slogged him for six over square leg, while Ghazanfar completed his five-for by having Nyamhuri top-edging to slip in between.

Williams added 30 for the ninth wicket with Ngarava, and brought up his 36th ODI fifty when he hammered debutant seamer Bilal Sami to deep backward point. Williams had also bashed birthday boy Sami for a four and six off consecutive balls in the 14th over.