Afghanistan achieved a thrilling victory in the T20I series after veteran Mohammad Nabi came through in the last over. Afghanistan, who were only chasing 128 points, looked certain to win easily at one stage, but a late collapse gave Zimbabwe a sniff. But in the last over, with three balls remaining and his team still needing seven to win, Nabi assumed responsibility and completed the task.
Zimbabwe got off to a strong start with the ball as they attempted to force Afghanistan to pay for their win. Despite a few boundaries from Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Zimbabwe struck again after Richard Ngarava and Blessing Muzarabani had reduced them to 9/2 in the first three overs. Muzarabani took his second wicket thanks to a leading edge from Darwish Rasooli, who had been half-centurion in the previous game. By the end of the powerplay, the visitors were in a vulnerable position at 36/3.Zimbabwe needed a miracle to end with 127 after falling to 106/9 after 17 overs. They could have had enough left to defeat the semi-finalists of the T20 World Cup if their middle order hadn’t given way so readily.
