Rashid takes three as Afghanistan fold Zimbabwe for 169 in tri-series final

Zimbabwe 169 (Raza 68, Rashid 3-41, Nabi 2-25, Sami 2-27) vs Afghanistan

Afghanistan's sensational catching complemented their accurate bowling as they bowled Zimbabwe out for 169 in the tri-series final in Sharjah. Given their batting form in the tournament so far, Afghanistan will be expected to chase down the total quite easily.

Rashid Khan starred with 3 for 41 for Afghanistan, but it was once again their pace trio and the veteran Mohammad Nabi who combined to take the first six wickets before Rashid got his first. Nabi, Fazalhaq Farooqi and Bilal Sami took two wickets each.

Only Sikandar Raza stood firm for Zimbabwe, with the captain making 68. He struck three sixes and as many fours in his 83-ball stay. Raza is now the first batter aged 40 years or more to score a fifty in an ODI tournament final.

Raza was among many players who struggled with the Sharjah heat and humidity. Farooqi needed a long time to bowl the last over of his first spell, while Raza, Nabi and a few others needed medical assistance from time to time.

The final, though, went along predictable lines. Zimbabwe, despite choosing to bat first, were off to a third consecutive poor start in the series. They were 26 for 3 in the seventh over, thus losing three wickets in the powerplay in all three games in the tri-series.

Farooqi got the ball to nip back sharply into Tadiwanashe Marumani, who left a huge gap between bat and pad. Afghanistan then brought out their fielding brilliance for a string of wickets thereafter. It started with Azmatullah Omarzai taking a one-handed caught-and-bowled chance to remove Brian Bennett in the sixth over. Next over, AM Ghazanfar took a stunning one-handed catch too, diving to his right at short square leg, as Tafadzwa Tsiga fell for 4.

Sami then had Brendan Taylor edging at a wide one in the 13th over, and Rahmanullah Gurbaz took the chance nicely. From 55 for 4, Zimbabwe needed a decent partnership to get them to a respectable score.

Raza and Ryan Burl provided that stability. Raza struck two fours and a six before Taylor's dismissal, while Burl struck the ball sweetly for boundaries off Sami and Rashid, respectively. Raza too struck Rashid with a swept four, but the experienced Zimbabwe pair generally found it hard to get boundaries during this period.

Ibrahim Zadran dropped Burl on 30, complaining of the low floodlights, before Raza reached his half-century. He became the second Zimbabwe captain to score a fifty in a tournament final, after Allistair Campbell's 51 against Kenya in 1997.

Burl, however, fell soon afterwards, ending his fifth-wicket stand with Raza on 60. Sami took a tumbling catch at deep square leg off Nabi. The offspinner took another shortly afterwards when Gurbaz affected a superb stumping. Wessley Madhevere came down the wicket and missed the ball, which took a deflection from his pad. Gurbaz collected it cleanly, though, and broke the stumps in one motion. It was Nabi's 300th wicket across all three formats in international cricket.

Rashid then trapped Brad Evans lbw for 1 to end the 30th over, before bowling Newman Nyamhuri with a topspinner in the 32nd. Rashid bowled that delivery from at least two yards from behind the popping crease. Raza was his next victim, caught at the long-off boundary on the ball after he launched him for a 98-metre six over midwicket.

The last wicket was a matter of time, but Wellington Masakadza and Blessing Muzarabani resisted the Afghanistan bowlers for nearly ten overs. They added 32 runs for the tenth wicket, making it the second-highest partnership of Zimbabwe's innings. It finally ended when Sami trapped Masakadza for 8, while Muzarabani was unbeaten on 17. He struck a four and a six in his 39-ball stay.