Afghanistan seal dominant tri-series triumph over Zimbabwe

Afghanistan continued their confident run in the tri-series with another remarkable win, this time sealing the final against Zimbabwe. With less than a year to go for the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2027, the team has continued to impress while fielding younger talent such as Bilal Sami and Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar.

Sikandar Raza elected to bat first, but Zimbabwe's batting never found momentum, with Raza scoring 68 and Ryan Burl contributing 31 as the only batters to show resistance in the middle order. A sharp opening spell from Fazalhaq Farooqi and Azmatullah Omarzai left Zimbabwe tottering at 26/3 in the seventh order.

Bilal Sami removed the experienced Brendan Taylor for nine to further dent the Chevrons, before Raza and Burl stitched together a 60-run stand. However, the floodgates opened in the 27th over when Burl was caught by Bilal off Mohammad Nabi's bowling, after which Nabi and Rashid Khan ran through the lower order.

Rashid was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 3-41, while Bilal claimed 2-27, Farooqi took 2-41, and Nabi finished with 2-25. Chasing a target of 170, Ibrahim Zadran led the way in the early overs with an array of attractive strokes.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz backed up his partner by powering the innings before falling in the 10th over with the team at 68. Zimbabwe bowled with greater discipline in the middle overs, but with a modest asking rate, Afghanistan comfortably closed in on the target.

Skipper Rahmat Shah partnered Zadran before being dismissed by Wessly Madhevere after scoring 43 runs. Zadran remained unbeaten on 70 as Afghanistan sealed the chase within the 35th over.

Looking ahead, Afghanistan are scheduled to play a three-match T20I series followed by a two-Test series against Zimbabwe in Sharjah, starting later this month.