Kabul, December 14, 2024: AfghanAtalan have put on a tremendous all-round performance to beat Zimbabwe in the third T20I by 3 wickets and complete a 2-1 series victory.
Earlier in the afternoon, Afghanistan won the toss for the 3rd successive time in the series and opted to bowl first. After opting to bowl first, #AfghanAtalan have put on an incredible bowling effort to bundle the hosts out for 127 runs in the first inning. The skipper Rashid Khan (4/27) returned with four wickets, whereas Azmatullah Omarzai (2/10), Mujeeb Ur Rahman (2/20), and Naveen Ul Haq (2/27) picked up two wickets apiece.
In reply, AfghanAtalan batted well in their pursuit of a 128-run target and chased it down in the last over by 3 wickets to complete a 2-1 series win over Zimbabwe. Azmatullah Omarzai backed up his bowling figures of 2/10 with a solid batting performance of 34 (37) to guide take Afghanistan close. Gulbadin Naib supported Omarzai well with a 22-run knock but it was Mohammad Nabi in the end, who stood tall and struck important and unbeaten 24* runs to help Afghanistan overcome a nervy chase and win the series 2-1.
Azmatullah Omarzai was awarded the Player of the Match for his outstanding all-round performance. Naveen Ul Haq was awarded the Player of the Series for his impressive bowling, picking up 8 wickets in three games.
The Afghanistan National Cricket Team will now be gearing up for the ODI leg of the tour, which is scheduled to begin on December 17 at the same venue, with the second and third ODI matches of the series to be played on December 19 and 21, respectively.
