[ad_1]
Overview:
Afghanistan continued its momentum since winning the second test against Zimbabwe in the shortest format, comfortably overcoming Zimbabwe to take the seed in the three-game series. It wasn’t just the overall brilliance, but what would have given them more confidence was that they managed to do it without five of their players, including Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Gulbadin Naib, who had made it to the UAE late due to visa. Questions.
Game 1 Rahmanullah Gurbaz stole the show from Afghanistan with a dynamic half-century lead after they were asked to beat. He ran towards an 87, before dropping 13 short of what would have been his first century T20I. Skipper Asghar Afghan was also part of the races, continuing his testing form after scoring a century, with a fifty to his name – his fourth in T20Is. Together they took Afghanistan to 198 which turned out to be too much for Zimbabwe.
With the ball they were led by their mainstay Rashid Khan, who is not just a star for Afghanistan, but a T20 cricketer, who returned three wickets. But most impressive was Karim Janat who came back 2-14 in their second leg, having last played in 2017. It capped off a spectacular all-round game for them which will help them prepare for the upcoming T20 WC. in October.
Zimbabwe did not qualify for the T20 WC for administrative reasons as its board of directors was suspended during qualifying. They also don’t come into the game with a record to brag about losing their last five T20Is. Against Afghanistan in particular, they lost nine of their last ten. Much of this is due to their over-reliance on experienced Sean Williams and Sikander Raza. But for them, the playing time is useful to the advancement of their game, as they look forward to welcoming Pakistan home next month where they will play two tests and three T20Is. That said, for now, their focus will be on trying to level the series after conceding the series opener. They have lost each of their last five T20Is, including nine of the last 10 to Afghanistan.
What: Afghanistan vs Zimbabwe, 2nd T20I, Friday March 19, 2020, 2:00 p.m. local time
Or: Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
What to expect: Afghanistan have great self-confidence and are quite used to playing in the scorching heat of the United Arab Emirates. The maximum temperature will reach 31 degrees.
Team news:
Afghanistan
Afghanistan might be tempted to announce some changes, bringing in staff from the five whose arrival has been delayed. However, they might not want to change a winning combination, giving the XI guys another chance.
Probable XI: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Karim Janat, Usman Ghani, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Asghar Afghan (c), Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Amir Hamza, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fareed Malik
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe could also be on the same side, unlikely to make any changes.
Probable XI: See Musakanda, Tinashe Kamunhukamwe, Sean Williams (c), Wesley Madhevere, Sikandar Raza, Richmond Mutumbami (wk), Ryan Burl, Donald Tiripano, Brandon Minetsa, Blessing Muzarabani, Richard Ngarava
Source link
