Afghanistan complete unbeaten tri-series as Zimbabwe fall short in final
SHARJAH – Zimbabwe finished as runners-up at the UAE ODI Tri-Series after Afghanistan won the final by seven wickets. Afghanistan won all three of their matches in the tournament.
The African side were bowled out for 169 in 43.3 overs after choosing to bat. Afghanistan reached their target in 34.3 overs, led by an unbeaten 70 off 96 balls from Ibrahim Zadran.
Sikandar Raza scored 68 off 83 balls, more than 40 per cent of Zimbabwe’s total. It was the captain’s second significant innings against Afghanistan in five days, after his 48 in Monday’s group match.
Afghanistan’s bowling attack shared the wickets:
Seamers Fazalhaq Farooqi and Azmatullah Omarzai reduced Zimbabwe to 26 for three inside seven overs.
Spinners Rashid Khan (three for 41), Mohammad Nabi (two for 25) and Bilal Sami (two for 27) took six of the last seven wickets.
Rashid finished the series with 11 wickets in three matches.
Zimbabwe’s best bowling came from left-arm seamer Newman Nyamhuri, who took two for 30, including the wicket of Rahmanullah Gurbaz (36) after a 68-run opening stand.
The tournament gave Zimbabwe, a co-host of the 2027 World Cup, three ODIs in UAE conditions. Highlights for Zimbabwe included:
the 99-run opening win over Bangladesh, in which Craig Ervine (93) and Brendan Taylor (81) shared a 150-run partnership
Ernest Masuku and Brad Evans taking three wickets each against Afghanistan on Monday
Raza reaching 100 ODI wickets
The two sides now play three T20Is from 27 October to 1 November and two Tests in November. They also meet in Group A at next year’s World Cup, at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo on 11 October 2027.
