Afghanistan crush Zimbabwe by 232 runs.

Afghanistan crush Zimbabwe by 232 runs. Afghanistan established a formidable foundation with a 191-run opening partnership, followed by their bowlers dismantling the Zimbabwean lineup in just the 18th over, thereby taking a commanding 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

Sediqullah Atal, a 23-year-old opener, was the standout performer, achieving his first ODI century with a score of 104 runs off 128 balls, which included eight fours and four sixes. His opening partner, Abdul Malik, contributed significantly with 84 runs.

Together, they batted through 35 overs after Craig Ervine opted to field first. Throughout the majority of the innings, the Zimbabwean bowlers struggled to make a breakthrough as Atal and Malik steadily built their partnership.

The 18-year-old left-arm pacer Newman Nyamhuri eventually ended the partnership by dismissing Malik and went on to claim two additional wickets, including that of Atal and Azmatullah Omarzai.

Afghanistan experienced a slight decline towards the end of their innings, scoring less than 100 runs in the final 15 overs while losing five wickets. Nevertheless, their total of 286/6 proved to be more than sufficient, as Zimbabwe faltered dramatically in their chase.

The collapse began with the run-out of Ben Curran in the opening over. Fast bowlers Fazalhaq Farooqi and Omarzai inflicted significant early damage, leaving Zimbabwe at 11/4 by the seventh over. Subsequently, the impressive AM Ghazanfar further troubled the Zimbabwean batsmen, dismissing Sean Williams and Brian Bennett in quick succession.

Meanwhile, medium pacer Naveed Zadran continued to undermine the home side’s efforts, preventing any chance of a respectable recovery. Zimbabwe’s innings deteriorated from 32/6 to 53/9, with Zadran claiming three wickets and leaving Sikandar Raza without a reliable partner.

Ghazanfar subsequently concluded the match by claiming his third wicket, leading to Zimbabwe’s collapse at a total of 54, which marks their joint-lowest score in One Day Internationals against Afghanistan.

Brief Scores:Afghanistan 286/6 in 50 overs (Sediqullah Atal 104, Abdul Malik 84; Newman Nyamhuri 3-53, Trevor Gwandu 2-70) beat Zimbabwe 54 in 17.5 overs (AM Ghazanfar 3-9, Naveed Zadran 3-13, Fazalhaq Farooqi 2-15) by 232 runs

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