Atal and Rashid seal Afghanistan's comprehensive win

Afghanistan 294 (Ata 102, Zadran 90, Masuku 3-44, Evans 3-47) beat Zimbabwe 136 (Raza 48, Rashid 4-17, Farooqi 2-15) by 158 runs

Atal put on a 140-run stand with Ibrahim Zadran, who made 90, and even though Afghanistan lost their last five wickets cheaply, Zimbabwe never came close to the 295 target, getting bowled out for 136 in 38.4 overs; had they crossed 196, Zimbabwe would have sealed a place in the tri-series final.

As it stands, all three teams in the competition, including Bangladesh, have a shot at qualifying for Sunday's final.

Zimbabwe's top order crashed for a second time in as many games, and this time there was no rescue act. They were 24 for 3 against Bangladesh, and this time they slipped to 43 for 4. Fazalhaq Farooqi cleaned up the left-handed Ben Curran in the third over. The ball nipped back off the seam, beating Curran through the gate for a duck. Brian Bennett tried to counterattack with a six and a four. Tafadzwa Tsiga though chased Farooqi outside off stump, only to get caught behind for 2.

Brendan Taylor was run out when he wandered out of the crease too far, with Azmatullah Omarzai nonchalantly getting a direct hit.

Later in the same over, Omarzai clean bowled Bennett, only for the latter to protest immediately that Omarzai's handkerchief had fallen off of him during his run-up. The umpires deliberated briefly, before Ahsan Raza called it a dead ball.

Bennett however lasted only little longer as AM Ghazanfar trapped him lbw for 31. He struck five boundaries including a six in his 40-ball stay.

With the situation dire at 43 for 4 in the 13th over, Sikandar Raza and Ryan Burl decided to slow things down. Raza struck Ziaur Rahman for an upper-cut six, and Burl hit his first four, but after that the pair grafted for the following 13 overs without a boundary.

During this time, Omarzai dropped Raza running in from the deep square-leg boundary. He ran the full course, but slipped the chance at the final moments. Raza was on 20. Then when he was on 24, Raza edged to slip where the catch wasn't held.

Finally in the 30th over, Raza struck Zia for a boundary, the first since the 17th over. Burl also hammered Mohammad Nabi for his second four, before Rashid got into his act.

He had Burl lbw for 31 with a slider that beat Burl's inside edge, hitting his front pad. It ended the 64-run fifth-wicket stand. Wessley Madhevere was then undone by a Rashid delivery that kept very low, but hit the batter's back pad in line with middle-stump. Raza fell in Rashid's next over, and not even Omarzai could drop the sitter at cover point. Raza finished on 48 off 80 balls.

Brad Evans was Nabi's first wicket, caught at deep midwicket after hammering the offspinner for a six and a four earlier in the over. Rashid then trapped Ernest Masuku lbw for a duck before Ziaur Rahman's throw from the deep caught Masakadza short, as Zimbabwe were done and dusted by the 39th over.

Earlier, Zadran and Atal added 140 runs for the second wicket, after Rahmanullah Gurbaz already gave Afghanistan a quick start. Zadran did the early running, reaching his eleventh half-century with some attractive shots. Atal looked like he was taking a bit of time to get back into the white-ball groove, but soon he also found the boundaries.

Zadran looked in fine touch, as he headed towards a certain century, until Evans had him caught in the deep square-leg boundary, for 90. This was the fourth time Zadran fell in the nineties, as Zimbabwe found a lifeline. Afghanistan lost their captain Rahmat Shah and Omarzai cheaply, which meant Atal had to slow down his approach. He added 42 runs for the fifth wicket with Hashmatullah Shahidi, before reaching his third ODI ton.

Atal played in a more restrictive style, first to complement Zadran in their second-wicket partnership, and then to ensure Afghanistan didn't lose their way. When he holed out in the deep in the 45th over, Afghanistan fell apart.

Zimbabwe picked up the remaining five wickets for just 35 runs in the last 5.2 overs, but in the end, Afghanistan's 294 was more than enough to secure a comprehensive win.