HARARE: Veteran Afghanistan all-rounders Mohammad Nabi and Azmatullah Omarzai have led Afghanistan to a 2-1 series win over Zimbabwe in the three-match T20 series.
Afghanistan were down at 45 for 4 after seven overs in their chase of a moderate 128 target in the final T20I, and with that, won the series.
scored seven off three balls in the final over at Harare Sports Club to deliver a three-wicket Twenty20 win over Zimbabwe on Saturday, and a 2-1 series victory. But Omarzai kept Afghanistan in the match who scored 34 from 37 balls.
In the final over, Afghanistan needed 7 runs as things got tight, but Nabi struck a four off the first ball, followed by a two and a single in a tense finish as the tourists followed up a 50-run triumph on Friday.
Mohammad Nabi has scored an unbeaten 24.
Zimbabwe scored 127 runs in an innings of 19.5 overs and Afghanistan chased down the target with 128 against 7 wickets in the sixth consecutive T20 series won by them against this southern African nation.
“We lost some wicks cheaply in the middle of our innings which put the pressure on us,” Nabi told reporters.
“I managed to control my nerves and that gave me the confidence to go on and score the series-winning runs.”
Next, it’s an ODI series and this wicket is a little difficult to read. The pitch for the first two games was better” – today it was up and down,” Nabi added
Afghan captain Rashid Khan won a third straight toss, but after batting first in the earlier matches, he opted to bowl in the series decider.
Skipper bagged 4 for 27 for Afghanistan while the top scorer for Zimbabwe, Brian Bennett, mustered only 31 runs, which included four fours.
Now, both teams will play a three-match one day international series in Harare beginning Tuesday followed by two tests in Bulawayo.
