HARARE – Afghanistan clinched the three-game One Day International series against Zimbabwe after taking an unassailable two-nil lead with an impressive 8-wicket win in the second game at Harare Sports Club on Monday.
The Chevrons again disappointed at home after being largely dominated by the Afghans.
The visitors did well in limited overs cricket but are a far cry from the cricketing giants anyway and the series defeat with one game remaining clearly shows how the Chevrons have fallen.
The rafters struck first, reaching a sub-par 228 runs, and the visitors had no problem chasing the low score and crossing the finish line with eight wickets in hand.
Ibrahim Zadran scored his first ODI century and shared with Rahmat Shah the second most wickets against Chevrons in Zimbabwe by 195 runs to secure a successful chase.
The win takes Afghanistan to 90 points from 11 games in the Super League World Cup standings and if they win the series 3-0 on Thursday they will be second in the points table and in good position to ensure automatic qualification for the 2023 World Cup.
Zimbabwe are at the other end of the table in 12th place with just three wins from 14 games.
While the 60-run gap between Zimbabwe and Afghanistan in the first game highlighted Zimbabwe’s problems in pursuit, the eight-wicket difference in the second game exposed their batting problems.
Half a century of Innocent Kaia and Ryan Burl built their innings, but they only had a 50-point partnership.
The last game of the series is very important for Zimbabwe as they aim to get more Super League points.
