Story by Lawrence Trusida, Sports Editor
THE Zimbabwe national cricket team has lost the T20 series to Afghanistan after the visitors took an unassailable two-nil lead, with a seven-wicket victory in the second match at Harare Sports Club this Friday.
Zimbabwe’s innings never found stability after an early collapse inside the power play.
Openers, Brian Bennett and Dion Myers fell cheaply, while veteran Brendan Taylor’s dismissal for just 3 left the hosts struggling at 34/3.
Captain Sikandar Raza (37 off 32) fought back briefly with boundaries against the pacers, but the Afghan spinners soon took control.
Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Rashid Khan dismantled the middle order with relentless accuracy and sharp turn.
Late cameos from Tony Munyonga (19) and Brad Evans (12) only pushed Zimbabwe to 125 before being bowled out in the final over.
Afghanistan’s response was swift and emphatic as the tourists sealed the series with a match to spare.
“We just have not played at our usual best. We know how good they are in T20s, they were in the semi-finals of the World Cup, but if we apply ourselves better, we can beat them and that is something we have not done these past two matches. We need to go back to our usual level,” Chevrons’ coach, Justin Sammons said.
The visitors were satisfied with the outing, their penultimate series before the World Cup.
“We are happy with how we have played and we want to keep on pushing because we have a World Cup coming up very soon and also to keep the momentum,” Khan said.
This was Afghanistan’s seventh series win against Zimbabwe.
The two teams meet in the last T20 match on Sunday at the same venue.
