Sharjah – October 27, 2026: Ijaz Ahmadzai (52), Shahidullah Kamal (46), and Rashid Khan (30) made significant contributions with the bat, while Fazal Haq Farooqi (3/13), Rashid Khan (2/20), Mujeeb Ur Rahman (2/27), and Azmatullah Omarzai (2/39) stole the show with the ball to lead AfghanAtalan to a 27-run victory and a 1-0 lead in the three-match T20I series against Zimbabwe.
Earlier in the evening, Zimbabwe
won the toss and chose to field first. Ijaz Ahmadzai scored a remarkable maiden
half-century (52), supported by Shahidullah Kamal (46) and Rashid Khan (30), as
Afghanistan posted a total of 177 runs, losing all 10 wickets.
Afghanistan’s bowlers then
delivered an impressive performance to defend the target successfully. Fazal
Haq Farooqi took 3 wickets for just 13 runs, while Rashid Khan claimed 2
wickets for 20 runs, Mujeeb Ur Rahman took 2 for 27, and Azmatullah Omarzai
finished with 2 for 39. They restricted Zimbabwe to 140 runs, which resulted in
a 37-run victory for AfghanAtalan.
Rashid Khan was named Player of
the Match for his outstanding all-round performance.
With this victory, AfghanAtalan
leads the series 1-0 and will face Zimbabwe again next Thursday in the second
T20I.