Zimbabwe learned that cricket is all about narrow margins when they played in Harare on Friday. The visitors were unable to get into a groove right from the start and failed to hit a single boundary in the first three overs, which sent up warning signs quickly for the home team. Although a six by Brian Bennett off the first legitimate delivery of the fourth over brought a glimmer of hope, it was short-lived as the early dismissals of Dion Myers and Bennett himself left the Zimbabweans gasping at 35/3 by the end of the PowerPlay.
Rashid Khan’s Death Over Masterclass
Spin bowler Rashid Khan for Afghanistan made it clear again why he is one of the most feared cricketers in modern-day T20 cricket by sending back Raza and Tashinga Musekiwa in the 17th over. This effectively ended any hope for Zimbabwe. At this point, Zimbabwe had three balls remaining and only managed to reach 125 runs – a significantly underwhelming total. The 3 wickets taken by Rashid for 9 runs were not only about economical bowling, but also about precision tactics. He achieved this by changing the pace of delivery and pitching the ball in areas that would elicit poor shot selection from the batsmen, as well as cause them to make mental mistakes – a common theme we have seen during the 2021 Caribbean Premier League (CPL) when Rashid repeatedly produced clutch performances that resulted in turning the tables in favor of Afghanistan in close games with similar type of performances down the stretch.
Afghanistan’s Measured Chase
Rahmanullah Gurbaz started like a man possessed in Afghanistan’s opening over, smashing a six and a four; however, when he went out of the game, Ibrahim Zadran took control. In contrast to Zimbabwe, Afghanistan had used their power play effectively as they moved at a good rate to reach 54 for one off 6 overs. It is interesting to note that there were seven straight overs without a single boundary in the middle order – yet, the pressure on the scoreboard remained relatively low. Herein lies the nuance: Afghanistan did not stretch themselves too far, showing respect to Zimbabwe’s spasmodic wickets, taking chances but, instead, relying on the depth of their batting line-up. This reflects the traditional “build and finish” model that defines most of today’s top T20 teams, such as India’s dominant run in 2020 and Australia’s strategy during the IPL in 2023.
Closing Out Without Drama
At 24 for 24 balls, Zimbabwe were given a brief glimmer of hope, but that flicker of hope was quickly snuffed out as Ibrahim’s 57 provided the base to work from, and Azmatullah Omarzai’s late boundary hitting cemented an eight-wicket win in 18 overs. The win was not merely based on raw power, but also on how they utilized their skillset and the timing of when the batsmen took the initiative in terms of being more aggressive with the bat. The win demonstrated one of the trends of modern T20 cricket – that a disciplined top and middle order can be backed up by world-class spin bowling, which will ultimately lead to a systematic dismantling of teams who provide some form of resistance, no matter how brief.
For those familiar with the progression of Afghanistan, the team’s T20I victory over Zimbabwe was no shock. The combination of Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman has shown the power of world-class spin bowling in T20 cricket – it can do more than limit scoring; it can determine the flow of the match. In contrast to the aggressive play of Zimbabwean batsmen at times, Afghanistan showed patience along with calculated aggression and awareness of the situation they were batting in.
Disclaimer: This blog post reflects the author’s personal insights and analysis. Readers are encouraged to consider the perspectives shared and draw their own conclusions.
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