Afghanistan defeated Zimbabwe by seven wickets in the final of the ODI tri-series in Sharjah on Friday, with Ibrahim Zadran hitting an unbeaten 70 to guide his team to the title.
Afghanistan chased down Zimbabwe’s 169 in 34.3 overs, finishing on 170 for three at Sharjah Cricket Stadium. Zadran anchored the innings with 70 not out from 96 balls, while captain Rahmat Shah made 43 and Rahmanullah Gurbaz scored 36.
Zimbabwe had won the toss and elected to bat but struggled against Afghanistan’s bowling attack, losing early wickets before being dismissed for 169 in 43.3 overs.
Captain Sikandar Raza led Zimbabwe’s resistance with 68 from 83 balls, while Ryan Burl contributed 31. The pair put on 60 runs for the fifth wicket after Zimbabwe had slipped to 55 for four.
Rashid Khan led Afghanistan’s bowlers with three wickets for 41 runs. Mohammad Nabi took two for 25, Bilal Sami two for 27 and Fazalhaq Farooqi two for 41. Azmatullah Omarzai claimed the other wicket.
Afghanistan made a strong start to the chase, with Gurbaz and Zadran putting on 68 for the opening wicket. Gurbaz hit four fours and two sixes in his 36 from 31 balls before being dismissed by Newman Nyamhuri.
After Sediqullah Atal fell for six, Zadran and Rahmat put together an 82-run third-wicket partnership that took Afghanistan close to victory. Rahmat was dismissed for 43 before Hashmatullah Shahidi hit the winning boundary.
Zadran was named player of the match for his unbeaten innings.
Rashid, meanwhile, was named player of the series after taking 11 wickets across Afghanistan’s three matches. Afghanistan went unbeaten in the tournament, defeating Zimbabwe twice and Bangladesh once.
The final also marked Rashid’s 250th international appearance for Afghanistan. He became the second Afghan player to reach the milestone after Nabi.
Nabi also reached a career milestone in the final, taking his 300th international wicket as he finished with two wickets from his 10 overs.
Afghanistan will next face Zimbabwe in a T20 international series beginning Tuesday, Oct. 27.
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