Afghanistan vs Zimbabwe:

 

Afghanistan: 155/8

Zimbabwe: 156/3 (19.3/20 overs, target 156)

Zimbabwe won the match against Afghanistan by 7 wickets with 3 balls remaining.

In the 5^th match of Bangladesh Twenty20 Tri-Series, Afghanistan scored 155 runs at the loss of 8 wickets in 20 overs. Zimbabwe scored 156 runs at the cost of 3 wickets in 19.3 overs, winning the match by 7 wickets with 3 balls remaining.

Afghanistan won the toss and elected to bat first. Afghanistan’s wicketkeeper-batsman Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Hazratullah Zazai came to bat for Afghanistan. Afghanistan had a great start in this match with their opening pair scoring 83 runs together. Rahmanullah Gurbaz once again giving an extraordinary performance in this tri-series scored 61 runs off 47 balls with the help of 4 fours and 4 huge sixes for Afghanistan.

Afghanistan’s opening batsman Hazratullah Zazai also scored 31 runs off 24 balls by hitting 3 fours and 2 sixes but despite having such an amazing start, Afghanistan’s batsmen started losing their wickets one by one to Zimbabwe’s bowling attack.

Afghanistan lost their first wicket in the 10^th over of the game at 83 runs and towards the end of the game, Afghanistan had lost a total of 8 wickets at 155 runs in 20 overs.

Zimbabwe’s Chris Mpofu bowled brilliantly, taking 4 wickets at the cost of just 30 runs in his 4 overs. Kyle Jarvis and Sean Williams took 1 wicket each while Tinotenda Mutombodzi took 2 wickets for Zimbabwe against Afghanistan.

Zimbabwe had to chase 156 runs in 20 overs to win the match. Brendan Taylor and Zimbabwe’s captain Hamilton Masakadza came to bat for Zimbabwe against Afghanistan.

This match was Hamilton Masakadza’s last match for Zimbabwe both as a captain and as a player. Hamilton Masakadza was able to make his farewell match quite memorable as his match-winning 71 off 42 balls with the help of 4 fours and 5 sixes all over the ground helped Zimbabwe snatch their first-ever win against Afghanistan.

Zimbabwe was able to achieve the target of 156 runs in 19.3 overs at the loss of 3 wickets thanks to Hamilton Masakadza’s match-winning innings. Zimbabwe won by 7 wickets with 3 balls remaining and Chris Mpofu was named “Player of the Match” for his 4 wickets.

Hamilton Masakadza defeats the undefeated Afghanistan:

Hamilton Masakadza defeats the undefeated Afghanistan:

Hamilton Masakadza’s incredible innings of 71 runs brought an end to Afghanistan’s undefeated winning streak in T20I against Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe has now played 9 T20I against Afghanistan in which Afghanistan has won 8 games straight before Zimbabwe’s win in Bangladesh Twenty20 Tri-Series. This match also brought Afghanistan’s undefeated highest winning streak of 12 matches to an end.

Afghanistan vs Bangladesh:

Afghanistan: 138/7

Bangladesh: 139/6 (19/20 overs, target 139)

Bangladesh won the match by 4 wickets with 6 balls remaining.

After losing their streak to Zimbabwe, Afghanistan also lost against Bangladesh in their very next game in the Bangladesh twenty20 Tri-Series.

Bangladesh won the match and elected to field first. Afghanistan came to bat with Hazratullah Zazai and Afghanistan’s wicketkeeper-batsman Rahmanullah Gurbaz.

Afghanistan once again had a very good start into their innings with Hazratullah Zazai scoring 47 off 35 balls with 6 fours and 2 sixes. Afghanistan lost their first wicket in the 10^th over at the score of 75 runs. Afghanistan once again like their previous match against Zimbabwe, started losing their wickets one after the other. Towards the end of the game, Afghanistan had lost 7 wickets at the score of 138 runs in 20 overs against Bangladesh thanks to Shafiqullah’s last-minute undefeated 23 off 17 balls.

Afif Hossain took 2 wickets in his 3 overs for Bangladesh against Afghanistan. Liton Das and Najum Hossain Shanto came to bat for Bangladesh against Afghanistan. Liton Das and Najmul Hossain Shanto both lose their wickets by the 4^th over of the game at just 12 runs.

Shakib Al Hasan against Afghanistan:

Things were looking grim for Bangladesh but Bangladesh’s captain Shakib Al Hasan took the matters into his own hand against Afghanistan while he delivered a total of massive 70 runs on just 45 balls by smacking 8 fours and a six all over the ground. Shakib Al Hasan’s 70 runs and Bangladesh’s wicketkeeper-batsman Mushfiqur Rahim’s 26 off 25 balls pushed Bangladesh into a winning position in the game.

Afghanistan’s bowling attack could not bring down Shakib Al Hasan’s one-man assault as Shakib Al Hasan struck even Afghanistan’s captain Rashid Khan for 18 runs in an over towards the end of the game.

Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan and the debutant Naveen-ul-Haq took 2 wickets each for their team against Bangladesh while Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Karim Janat took 1 wicket each for Afghanistan.

Bangladesh’s captain Shakib Al Hasan remained undefeated till the last ball, leading his team from the very front towards victory. Shakib Al Hasan’s 70 off 45 balls moved Bangladesh to the top of the points table of Bangladesh Twenty20 Tri-Series.

Afghanistan in Bangladesh Twenty20 Tri-Series:

Afghanistan had been on fire from even before the start of Bangladesh Twenty20 Tri-Series as they were looking unstoppable with a winning streak of 10 matches.

Afghanistan played their first match of the Bangladesh Twenty20 Tri-series against Zimbabwe. Batting first, Afghanistan scored 197/5 off 20 overs. Zimbabwe could only score 169/7 in 20 overs for their chase of 198 runs. Afghanistan’s Najibullah Zadran was awarded “Player of the Match” for his undefeated 69 off 30. This was Zimbabwe’s 8^th in a row defeat against Afghanistan in T20I.

Afghanistan’s second match of Bangladesh Twenty20 Tri-Series was against Bangladesh. Afghanistan scored 164/6 in 20 overs while batting first against Bangladesh. Bangladesh got all out at 139 runs in 19.5 overs in front of Afghanistan’s bowling attack. Mohammad Nabi of Afghanistan was awarded “Player of the Match” for his incredible innings of undefeated 84 runs off 54 balls with the help of 3 fours and 7 sixes.

Bangladesh will now face Afghanistan in the finals of the Bangladesh Twenty20 Tri-Series on 24 September 2019 at Dhaka.