Online Reporter
Blessing Malinganiza-Zimpapers Sports Hub
AFTER slumping to a 53-run defeat, Zimbabwe’s Chevrons return to Harare Sports Club today seeking to level their three-match Twenty20 cricket international against Afghanistan.
The Chevrons came off second best in the first T20I at the same venue on Wednesday.
In a dramatic reversal of fortune, just days after a historic Test victory over the same opponent, the Chevrons crumbled down.
The Chevrons, riding high from their recent success, imploded during their chase.
- Related story: https://www.heraldonline.co.zw/chevs-in-heavy-defeat/
Set a target of 181, their batting order disintegrated, bowled out for a meagre 127 in just 16.1 overs.
The collapse was spearheaded by a catastrophic top-order failure, with captain Sikandar Raza, Brendan Taylor, Ryan Burl and Tadiwanashe Marumani all dismissed for a combined total of one run.
This batting debacle squandered a competitive bowling effort.
Despite Afghanistan posting 180/6 — a total built on a dominant 67-run partnership from openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran — Sikandar Raza had managed to check the flow with three wickets.
Raza’s all-round contribution, however, was halved. After his key bowling performance, he was dismissed for a single run, epitomising his team’s batting struggles.
Tinotenda Maposa (32) and Brian Bennett (24) provided scant resistance as the only batsmen to pass twenty, but their efforts were in vain against a disciplined Afghan spin attack.
The victory gives Afghanistan a 1-0 lead in the three-match series, a vital rebound after their Test match loss.
For Zimbabwe, the defeat puts into perspective persistent vulnerability against spin bowling and a concerning reliance on too few consistent batsmen.
The hosts know they need to win today, to keep the series alive and set up a potentially explosive decider at Harare Sports Club on Sunday.
This means both the bowlers and the batters have to come to the party and spark a possible Chevrons come-back win.
