Atal, Malik, bowlers lead Afghanistan's rout of Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe crumbled to 54 in the 287 chase to give Afghanistan their biggest win in ODIs in terms of runs
Zimbabwe crumbled to 54 in the 287 chase to give Afghanistan their biggest win in ODIs in terms of runs
Scorer: Chetan Kumar | Commentator: Ashish Pant
That's that! A swift end to the game courtesy of a clinical show from the Afghanistan bowlers. That's it from us tonight. Thanks for tuning in. We will be back nice and early for the third ODI, but till then this is me Ashish Pant signing off on behalf of Srinidhi and Chetan, Ciao!
Afghanistan captain, Hashmatullah Shahidi: Very impressed with the way the openers batted. The credit goes to them. We outclassed them in all departments. [286] When I was also batting, the wicket was a bit tricky. I thought it was enough runs, but we had to work hard for the win. We gave our 100% and we did well. Our team performance is going up day by day. Everyone takes responsibility and everyone knows their roles. We want to carry on with this performance. We have in mind that we will play Champions so we want to be prepared for that. [On the win] We are felling very proud and happy.
Sediqullah Atal is the player of the match: I am very happy with my performance and the team performance to win a fantastic game of cricket. [Conditions] The wickets are not very easy especially in the first innings. But me and Malik managed really well. We supported each other and that's why we did well and the team did well. [On his knock] I had a poor series in the T20s. I need to take time and assess the conditions. In the 90s, I got a little nervous.
Zimbabwe captain, Craig Ervine: I thought the pitch played a bit better than the previous game. We just wanted to set a platform. [Problem] We have to back to the drawing board. Afghanistan bowlers were very skilful. But we didn't show ourselves to be 50 all out. [On Newman Nyamhuri] He was very impressive. He is a bright kid for the future. Hopefully, he can continue to do well. [Maposa's injury] He has done his quad. I am not sure how bad it is. Think he will be out for the next game. Wish him a speedy recovery.
Do hang around for the presentation
3.13pm Wow, that was quick. Utter carnage in Harare as Zimbabwe have been rolled over for just 54 in 17.5 overs and they go down by 232 runs. This is the biggest win for Afghanistan in ODIs in terms of runs. They also take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. Zimbabwe really weren't ever in the chase. Ben Curran was run out in the first over before Farooqi and Omarzai ripped through the top order reducing the hosts to 11 for 4 in the seventh over. Williams and Raza hung on for a bit, but Ghazanfar's mystery was too much for Zimbabwe to handle. He removed Williams and Bennett in an over, while Naveed Zadran picked up the lower order. Both Ghazanfar and Zadran picked three wickets apiece while Farooqi took two. No one from Zimbabwe really hung around
Sulaiman Sargar: "Zim bundled out without a ball bowled by Rashid Khan means great bowling resources with Afg."
Chuvi : "Definitely not a 54 all out pitch. Shocking shot selection. Lack of application "
Sukanya : "The over dependence on ervine , Williams and raza has to be reduced "
Kiran : "40 extras in Afghanistan innings and Zimbabwe folded for 54. That sums up the day"
TT Maposa st †Ikram Alikhil b Ghazanfar 0 (5m 2b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0.00
Two slips in place
Hat-trick ball. Maposa, who had earlier hurt his quad has come in at No. 11. Three slips and a gully in place. Naveed is over the wicket.
Zimbabwe crumbled to 54 in the 287 chase to give Afghanistan their biggest win in ODIs in terms of runs