1st T20I between Zimbabwe and Afghanistan Harare Sports Club, setting the stage for an intense ongoing war afghanistan tour of zimbabweBatting first, Afghanistan made a strong score of 180/6 in 20 overs thanks to the stormy innings of the opener. ibrahim zadran And valuable contributions from others. Zimbabwe’s defeat was shattered in front of the brilliant spin bowling of mujeeb ur rehmanWhose devastating spell demolished the host team’s batting lineup, giving Afghanistan an emphatic 53-run win.
Ibrahim Zadran’s blaster sets up a strong score for Afghanistan
The opening pair made a great start to Afghanistan’s innings. Rahmanullah Gurbaz And Jadran is laying a strong foundation. Zadran was particularly impressive, scoring a quickfire 52 off just 33 balls with six fours and a six, demonstrating his aggressive strokeplay and ability to dominate Zimbabwe’s bowling attack early on. The pair’s partnership made 76 runs before the first wicket fell, setting the stage for a competitive score.
Despite losing wickets at regular intervals due to Zimbabwe’s tight bowling Sikandar Raza And blessings to muzarabaniAfghanistan managed to maintain a healthy scoring rate around nine runs per over. middle order batsmen like Sediqullah Atal And Azmatullah Omarzai While the useful runs added are 25 and 27 respectively. Shahidullah Kamal and captain Rashid Khan Finished the innings in style, helping Afghanistan post a challenging score of 180/6.
Mujeeb Ur Rahman’s spin wizardry dashes Zimbabwe’s target
Chasing 181, Zimbabwe started their innings under pressure and Afghanistan’s Mujeeb quickly took advantage of it. Mujeeb bowled devastatingly and took four important wickets giving just 20 runs at an economy of 6.66 in 3 overs. His magical spin and sharp variations proved too difficult for the Zimbabwean batsmen, leading to collapse early in the chase. Major batsmen including Mujeeb were dismissed Tadivanashe Marumani, Brendan Taylorand dangerous brad evans, Zimbabwe’s hopes were dashed.
With wickets falling regularly, Zimbabwe struggled to build any meaningful partnerships. Despite efforts to fight Tony Munyonga (20 runs) and Tinotenda Maposa (32 runs), no one could take the innings forward effectively. Zimbabwe were eventually all out for 127 in 16.1 overs, missing out by 53 runs.
Mujeeb’s magic tilted the game decisively in Afghanistan’s favor as he expertly exploited the conditions. Got good support from Umarzai and spin pair Rashid Khan And with Shahidullah, Afghanistan recorded a comprehensive win in the opening match of the series.
Afghanistan defeated Zimbabwe in the first T20 match#ZIMvAFG pic.twitter.com/Fx1xQimq3E
– CricketTimes.com (@CricketTimesHQ) 29 October 2025