Afghanistan vs Zimbabwe, 2nd T20I: Afghanistan can seal the series in Sharjah
Two days after the opener, the same Sharjah ground hosts the second T20I on Thursday, 29 October, with the first ball under lights at 18:30 local time (17:30 Moscow). Afghanistan are one win from the series. Zimbabwe need this one just to keep Sunday's finale worth the trip. Raza's side spent part of Tuesday evening in control and then watched it leak away, and that story is the reason to tune in.
Afghanistan: rescued by the middle order, not the stars up top
Afghanistan batted first on Tuesday and made 177 all out in 19.5 overs, a fine total that came from an uncomfortable start. Zimbabwe's seamers struck early, Gurbaz never found his rhythm, and the innings wobbled again when Omarzai went (The Herald).
Shahidullah Kamal steadied things with 46 off 42. Ijaz Ahmad Ahmadzai then changed the mood entirely with 52 off 22, and Rashid Khan added the late fireworks. Rashid's finishing method was refreshingly simple: "watch the ball and hit" (Cricbuzz). For the top order he wanted something slower, though: read the conditions, pick the bowlers to target and judge a sensible total first.
Ibrahim Zadran said "the condition was a bit sticky" and admitted the top-order recovery is still a work in progress (Cricbuzz). He is leading the full-strength squad here, not the second-string side that lost to Nepal and beat Japan at the Asian Games. Mohammad Nabi and Darwish Rasooli are out of the squad, Ijaz and Shahidullah are back, and Rashid and Ibrahim are rested only from the Tests (ACB).
The defence of that total looked far calmer. Fazalhaq Farooqi took 3/13, including Ben Curran, who was hurried by a short ball as he went for a front-foot pull. Rashid (2/20) and Mujeeb squeezed the middle overs, and the wickets kept coming late (ICC). Shahidullah even chipped in with the ball and held a stunner at extra cover, as all-rounders sometimes do to make the rest of us feel lazy.
Zimbabwe: good starts, then the plans go out the window
The Chevrons had the better of the first hour on Tuesday. Debutant Ernest Masuku troubled the Afghan top order straight away, and Newman Nyamhuri finished with 4/31 (The Herald). Then Shahidullah and Ijaz were allowed to rebuild, Rashid made it worse, and a manageable target grew into 178.
Sikandar Raza's verdict was candid: "Sometimes people start to swing and the plans go out the window" (Cricbuzz). He blamed seamers who dropped the hard length that had been working and served up width and full balls instead. Before the tour, coach Justin Sammons had warned that in a bad passage "we get blown out of the water" (The Herald / Zimpapers). Tuesday proved him right, which can't have been much comfort.
The chase stalled at 140 all out in 19.1 overs. Ryan Burl's 32 off 24 was the only real counter-attack, Innocent Kaia made 24 before missing a googly he tried to cut, and Bennett and Raza both fell to Mujeeb playing attacking shots at hittable balls (Cricbuzz). Their September form in Windhoek tells a similar story: two wins over Namibia, two defeats by South Africa, and a top order that lost four powerplay wickets in both of those losses.
Richard Ngarava is still out with his back problem. Blessing Muzarabani missed the opener with a niggle and could come back into contention. Brad Evans is available here, with Kundai Matigimu lined up to replace him for the final game, and Tafadzwa Tsiga and leg-spinner Vincent Masekesa are also in the squad (Wisden).
Why Afghanistan's spin should decide it again
Sharjah has short square boundaries, but its surfaces tend to be slow and grip for spin. Tuesday's pitch was tacky early, helping hard-length seam and giving the spinners turn and stop (Cricbuzz). Both captains wanted to bowl first last time. Dew isn't guaranteed to help the chasing side either: before the ODI final here on 23 October, Raza noticed little of it and pointed to the wind.
The market sees a clear favourite: Afghanistan at 1.29, with Zimbabwe at 3.77. I agree, mainly because of overs seven to fifteen. Rashid and Mujeeb are where Zimbabwe's chase died on Tuesday, and I haven't seen anything that suggests the Chevrons have solved that.
Zimbabwe's way back is narrow but it does exist. They need early wickets again, and this time they have to keep the hard length when someone like Ijaz starts swinging. With the bat, they need a powerplay that doesn't leave them chasing the game from the sixth over. Do both and the 1.29 starts to look short. Do neither and Afghanistan will be lifting the trophy by Thursday night.
