Ghazanfar five-for leads Afghanistan to ODI series win over below-par Zimbabwe
Afghanistan have now won each of their bilateral ODI series against Zimbabwe bar the one in 2014, which was split
Afghanistan have now won each of their bilateral ODI series against Zimbabwe bar the one in 2014, which was split
Scorer: Ranjith P | Commentator: Rashad Mahbub
That concludes our activities for today. I hope you all had a good time with us and that you will all be there for the test match as well. In the meanwhile, I, Rashad, am signing off on behalf of Rvel, Ranjith, and the rest of the team.
Hashmatullah Shahidi: "Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem (In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful). I am very happy with the way the team performed in all three departments. And Uh, I can say again that I'm feeling really, really happy and moving forward for the next Uh, test series. I think if you look at every point you were doing very good and I mentioned in the last Match also that everyone takes responsibility. Everyone knows their role. So that's the reason. I think some youngsters who are coming to the team like Ghazanfar from the last two to three series. He is doing very well for the team and Hopefully, he carry on the same momentum and bowl well for us in the future also. Look at Sediq (Atal) and Malik. These two have batted in this ODI series was also fantastic. And I'm very happy with that. Yeah. (Youngsters) Uh, I think they played their role really nicely, and The good thing is that we have senior guys in the team like Nabi Rashid Rahmat Um, with them the youngsters are also doing good, so it's the combination of both senior and youngster so happy with the team and hopefully we carry on and We take that momentum to Champions trophy also. It's a good chance for us to do something special in this Champions Trophy. (Enjoy the scenery of Zimbabwe) Yeah, we will travel tomorrow to Bulawayo. So firstly we will try to enjoy, then we will focus on the big matches which are these two test games that are on the way. So I think the other guys who are playing for the test, are right now, preparing their self. We will do and we will enjoy Bulawayo for one day and then we will restart again. We will fully focus on the test because it's important for us."
Craig Ervine: "Obviously, we've got to look forward to the test, but I think, you know, throughout this series, we did find it tough. A lot of the youngsters have been exposed to, I think some Quality bowling from the Afghanistan side, and a lot of credit to them. I thought, you know, they were, they were brilliant throughout with the bat, with the ball with the spin through the middle. Um, so yeah. (Batting collapse) Oh, look. I think It's it's always it's always tricky because you're constantly trying to evolve. You're constantly trying to get better and improve. Um and you go over certain plans and sometimes they don't work, I think that's part of sport. But I thought today, at least we showed a little bit more intent, a little bit more positivity. And well done to Sean Williams, obviously his innings today were outstanding. (Test Match Prep) Yeah, obviously, we head down tomorrow and we've got a couple days before that test starts so it's a very quick turnaround for us. And a slightly different conditions down in Bulawayo. So get down there nice and early. Try and train as much as we can to, to work out our plans, and stuff in those conditions. And hopefully, we can put in a few better performances over the test matches."
Player of the Series Sediqullah Atal: "Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem (In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful). First of all thanks to my dear Allah. All the teammates throughout this tournament (Series) supported me in every situation. So it was an excellent series for me and all my teammates, especially the young players. So I always try to be consistent as much as possible. So, Alhamdulillah (Praise to The Almighty), I did this. It was a very good pitch for batting compared to the other two games. The ball came nice to the bat. So that's why we played some good shots as well (Laughter)."
Player of the Match: AM Ghazanfar
The Zimbabwean bowlers never had an easy time defending a meagre 128-run total. Additionally, their bowlers bowled 13 extras, which did them no favours. Afghanistan finished the three-match ODI series with another comfortable victory. Sediqullah Atal and Abdul Malik, their outstanding and in-form opening duo, batted brilliantly and were headed for a ten-wicket win. Atal, who scored 52 runs off 50 balls and led the batting order, was the main man. In a 12-run span, Afghanistan lost both of their openers. A surprising lift and glimmer of hope came to Zimbabwe when Brian Bennett caught a reaper close to the deep extra cover ropes. Rahmat Shah and Hashmatullah Shahidi, however, maintained their composure and won the game. It's almost time for the post-match presentation ceremony, so stay put!
Afghanistan won the match by 8 wickets
Afghanistan have now won each of their bilateral ODI series against Zimbabwe bar the one in 2014, which was split