AFG vs ZIM: Leg-spinner Rashid Khan’s magical spell guided Afghanistan to victory over Zimbabwe in the second and final Test match of the series by 72 runs at the Queens Sports Club on Monday. With this victory, the visitors seal the two-match series 1-0. Rashid was awarded the Player of the Match for his brilliance with the ball and Rahmat Shah was awarded the Player of the Series award for his exceptional batting performance which included a double hundred in the first Test.
Chasing a total of 277 runs, the hosts were bowled out for 205. The highest scorer in the side was their skipper Craig Ervine who slammed 53 runs which was laced with four boundaries and a maximum.
Sikandar Raza (38 runs off 83 balls, 2 fours), Ben Curran (38 runs off 53 balls, 5 fours), Takudzwanshe Kaitano (21 runs in 56 balls, 2 fours and 1 six), Sean Williams (16 runs off 25 balls , 2 fours) and Joylord Gumbie (15 runs from 45 balls, 2 fours) played notable for their side but it went in vain as their team ended up on a losing side.
For the Afghanistan side, the pick of the bowler was Rashid Khan who grabbed seven wickets in his spell of 27.3 overs where he conceded 66 runs. Two wickets were snapped by left-arm spinner Zia-Ur-Rehman in his 15 overs where he gave away 44 runs.
Earlier in the third innings, Afghanistan scored 363 with the help of knocks from Rahmat Shah (139 runs in 275 balls, 14 fours) and Ismat Alam (101 runs off 181 balls, 9 fours).
For Zimbabwe, six wickets were bagged by right-arm seamer Blessing Muzarabani in his spell of 29 overs where he conceded 95 runs. Three wickets were taken by Richard Ngarava and one wicket was taken by Sikandar Raza.
Brief Score: Afghanistan 157 & 363 all out (Rahmat Shah 139, Ismat Alam 101, Blessing Muzarabani 6/95) vs Zimbabwe 243 & 205 all out (Craig Ervine 53, Sikandar Raza 38, Rashid Khan 7/66).