Published: Jan 08, 2016, 08:30 PM (IST)
Edited: Aug 31, 2016, 11:47 AM (IST)
Masa’ Alkhayr! Hello and Welcome to CricketCountry’s live coverage of the first of the two-match Twenty20 International (T20I) series between hosts Afghanistan and visitors Zimbabwe at the Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium on Friday. I am Rishad D’Souza, and I will be bringing you all the live updates from this tie. Afghanistan, who are currently flying high, following the ODI series win agaisnt Zimbabwe a couple of days ago, had their second ODI series win and on a consecutive note, as they beat Zimbabwe in the away series a few months ago. They would look to continue their winning performance in the shortest format pf the game, while Ziumbanwe would aim for a comeback in this format and earn some payback. LIVE CRICKET SCORECARD: Afghanistan vs Zimbabwe 2015-16, 1st T20I at Sharjah
Afghanistan will be delighted to have won the match, while Zimbabwe have a lot of things to ponder over. Here’s our match report
Live Cricket Score Zimbabwe 182/7 in 20 overs | TARGET 188| Batting: Malcom Waller 49 (37): Yet another nail-biting match comes to an end, but it is Afghanistan, who hold their nerves to pull off a five-run win. What a see-saw match it was. Afghanistan looked sset for an easy win, bt some excellent hitting and a couple of no balls in the final over, took the game right till the final ball. Afghanistan lead the series 1-0 with one more match to play. OUT! Sikandar Raza st Shahzad b Hamza 19 (19), Elton Chigumbura run out 8 (7), Luke Jongwe c Naib b Zadran 11 (5)
Live Cricket Score Zimbabwe 143/4 in 17 overs | TARGET 188| Batting: Malcom Waller 41 (33), Sikandar Raza 12 (15): Afghanistan have managed to keep things tight. Zimbabwe will have to get at least a couple of boundaries every over to win the match from here. This is turning out into an excellent match. Both teams giving t their all.
Live Cricket Score Zimbabwe 128/4 in 15 overs | TARGET 188| Batting: Malcom Waller 30 (24), Sikandar Raza 10 (12): Raza and Waller have not looked comfortable, but they are hanging in there. They are also getting the occasional boundary. It’s currently neck and neck at Sharjah. We are set for yet another exciting finale.
Live Cricket Score Zimbabwe 103/4 in 12 overs | TARGET 188| Batting: Malcom Waller 13 (14), Sikandar Raza 2 (4): Just as Masakadza was looking set, he has to depart for 33. Sikandar Raza is the new batsman. Although Zimbabwe are scoring at a good rate, Afghanistan are picking up wickets at regular intervals, which is not good for Zimbabwe. OUT! Hamilton Masakadza b Nabi 33 (24)
Live Cricket Score Zimbabwe 79/3 in 10 overs | TARGET 188| Batting: Hamilton Masakadza 24 (19), Malcom Waller 7 (11): Waller and Masakadza playing well at the moment. They are afraid to go for the big hits and Zimbabwe need a lot of it. Afghanistan waill want to break this partnership quickly.
Live Cricket Score Zimbabwe 66/3 in 8 overs | TARGET 188| Batting: Hamilton Masakadza 7 (7), Malcom Waller 3 (6): Gone! just as Zimbabwe were making progress, they have lost the wicket of Mutumbami. Malcom Waller is the new batsman for Zimbabwe and he has to steady in the innings along with Masakadza. OUT! Richard Mutumbami c Nabi b Naib 19 (17)
Live Cricket Score Zimbabwe 54/2 in 6 overs | TARGET 188| Batting: Hamilton Masakadza 7 (7), Richard Mutumbami 19 (16): Zimbabwe have made decent progress after losing the third wicket and will and will have to ensure that this partnership is a substantial one, else they will be in deep trouble. Afghanistan still have the edge at the moment.
Live Cricket Score Zimbabwe 32/2 in 3 overs | Batting: Hamilton Masakadza 6(5): Zimbabwe have been scoring at a good rate. unfortunately for them, they have also lost wickets at a good rate. This is troubling news for them. Dawlat Zadran has been responsible for both the dismissals so far. Hamilton Masakadza will have to play a good knock here. OUT! Chamu Chibhabha 18(10) c Rashid Khan b Dawlat Zadran
Live Cricket Score Afghanistan 187/7 in 20 overs | Batting: Rashid Khan 14(5), Mirwais Ashraf 1(2): Afghanistan has reached a formidable score of 187 for seven in the 20 overs and have smashed 66 runs in the last five overs of the innings. Gulbadin Naib and Rashid Khan were primarily responsible for Afghanistan’s miseries in this segment of the game. OUT! Mohammad Nabi 26(11) c Sikandar Raza b Chisoro, Najibullah Zadran 1(2) b Jongwe, Gulbadin Naib 37(20) run out
Live Cricket Score Afghanistan 121/4 in 15 overs | Batting: Mohammad Nabi 7(4), Gulbadin Naib 9(6): Great contest here between the batsmen and bowlers here. In the 15th over there were two sixes and Afghanistan will be happy about that after losing a couple of wickets in the previous overs. OUT! Usman Ghani 42(38) c Moor b Sikandar Raza, OUT! Karim Sadiq 16(17) c Chibhabha b Cremer
Live Cricket Score Afghanistan 99/2 in 12 overs | Batting: Usman Ghani 42(37), Karim Sadiq 10(10): Afghanistan are rebuilding now after the two quick wickets by Graeme Cremer jolted them. Ghani has been playing very well and is looking forward to a fifty. Sadiq will look to up his scoring in a few overs time.
Live Cricket Score Afghanistan 77/2 in 9 overs | Batting: Usman Ghani 31(27), Karim Sadiq 0(0): Graeme Cremer is spinning this in back of favour of Zimbabwe, has already picked two wickets in his two overs. After dismissing the dangerous Shahzad in his first over he’s struck with the wicket of skipper Asghar Stanikzai. He’s bowled very cleverly. OUT! Asghar Stanikzai 8(8) c Sikandar Raza b Stanikzai
Live Cricket Score Afghanistan 63/1 in 7 overs | Batting: Usman Ghani 26(22), Asghar Stanikzai 0(3): Fantastic over by Graeme Cremer to pull it back in favour of Zimbabwe a bit. He’s bowled a very restricting over conceding just one runs but more importantly he has gotten rid of Shahzad. Cremer realising Shahzad’s intentions decided to slip in a slower one, it worked and went through the gate as Shahzad looked to play the slog before time.
Live Cricket Score Afghanistan 62/0 in 6 overs | Batting: Usman Ghani 25(20), Mohammad Shahzad 33(16): The bad new for Zimbabwe fans is that Afghanistan’s onslaught continues undisturbed. Mohammad Shahzad is in his zone and Usman Ghani is playing equally aggressive now. Shahzad has smashed three sixes already and Ghani has hit one. The Zimbabwean attack has been tame so far.
Live Cricket Score Afghanistan 38/0 in 4 overs | Batting: Usman Ghani 9(11), Mohammad Shahzad 25(13): Mohammad Shahazad has not taken too much time to get into his explosive zone. He has smashed two sixes in the fourth over of Tendai Chisoro and the pressure is now firmly on the Zimbabwean bowlers. They will need to make a breakthrough quick.
Teams:
Zimbabwe: Sikandar Raza, Chamu Chibhabha, Hamilton Masakadza, Richmond Mutumbami (wk), Elton Chigumbura (c), Malcolm Waller, Peter Moor, Luke Jongwe, Graeme Cremer, Tendai Chisoro
Afghanistan: Mohammad Shahzad(wk), Usman Ghani, Mohammad Nabi, Asghar Stanikzai (c), Gulbadin Naib, Karim Sadiq, Najibullah Zadran, Rashid Khan, Mirwais Ashraf, Dawlat Zadran, Amir Hamza
Afghanistan have won the toss and chosen to bat first
For Afghanistan the greatest worry will be their inconsistencies with the bat. In one match they were bowled out for 58, yet in another game they bounced back from a difficult position to chase almost 250. Zimbabwe will seek a greater team effort rather than just a few players contributing in a big way. If the ODI series was any measure to go by, the first T20I will be a balanced affair. The teams will engage in only 2 T20Is, so the team that wins the first game will enjoy the security of their position in the series being unassailable. Hence, the first match will be crucial. Afghanistan vs Zimbabwe 2015-16, 1st T20I at Sharjah, Preview
Squads:
Afghanistan: Asghar Stanikzai (c), Dawlat Zadran, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Mirwais Ashraf, Mohammad Shahzad (wk), Noor Ali Zadran, Rashid Khan, Samiullah Shenwari, Shafiqullah Shafiq, Yamin Ahmadzai, Amir Hamza, Gulbadin Naib, Karim Sadiq, Mohammad Nabi, Najibullah Zadran, Nawroz Mangal, Rahmat Shah, Rokhan Barakzai, Sayed Shirzad, Usman Ghani, Nawaz Khan.
Zimbabwe: Elton Chigumbura (c), Tendai Chisoro, Craig Ervine, Neville Madziva, Wellington Masakadza, Richmond Mutumbami (wk), Tinashe Panyangara, Malcolm Waller, Chamu Chibhabha, Graeme Cremer, Luke Jongwe, Hamilton Masakadza, Peter Moor, Taurai Muzarabani, Sikandar Raza.
LIVE CRICKET SCORECARD: Afghanistan vs Zimbabwe 2015-16, 1st T20I at Sharjah
