Omarzai and Mujeeb Help Afghanistan Take an Early Lead

Omarzai and Mujeeb Help Afghanistan Take an Early Lead

1st T201: Afghanistan beat Zimbabwe by 53 runs on Wednesday to take a 1-0 lead in a three-match Twenty20 series.

After a heavy defeat in the one-off Test, Afghanistan responded strongly by beating Zimbabwe by 53 runs in the first T20I, taking a 1-0 lead in the series. The visitors posted 180 runs, thanks to a solid opening stand and late fireworks, before bowling out Zimbabwe for just 127.

Afghanistan’s innings began with a blazing start from Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran, who added 76 runs for the first wicket. Gurbaz attacked early, hitting three boundaries off Richard Ngarava, while Zadran smashed the first six of the match and followed it up with a classy cover drive. The duo dominated the powerplay, with Gurbaz finishing it off with back-to-back boundaries.

Sikandar Raza broke the partnership and later picked up two wickets in one over to slow things down. Blessing Muzarabani also struck twice, reducing Afghanistan to 128/5, but Azmatullah Omarzai and Shahidullah Kamal played crucial cameos at the death to push the total to a competitive 180.

Zimbabwe’s chase got off to a nightmare start. Mujeeb Ur Rahman struck twice in the second over, including the key wicket of Brendan Taylor. In the very next over, Omarzai picked up two more wickets, and Zimbabwe were suddenly 25/4. The collapse continued as Brian Bennett fell to Omarzai, making it 30/5.

With the top five back in the pavilion, the game was slipping away. Brad Evans scored 24 and Tinotenda Maposa entertained with a quickfire 32 off 15 balls, helping Zimbabwe cross 100. But Mujeeb returned to clean up the tail, finishing with 4 wickets, while Omarzai ended with 3, sealing a comfortable win for Afghanistan.

It was a complete performance from the visitors, with strong batting up top, a recovery in the middle, and a ruthless bowling display that left Zimbabwe with no answers.

Brief scores: Afghanistan 180/6 in 20 overs (Ibrahim Zadran 52, Rahmanullah Gurbaz 39; Sikandar Raza 3/20) beat Zimbabwe 127 in 16.1 overs (Tinotenda Maposa 32; Mujeeb Ur Rahman 4/20, Azmatullah Omarzai 3/29) by 53 runs.