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Sports Reporter
THE Chevrons slumped to a demoralising One Day International series whitewash at the hands of Afghanistan yesterday following a four-wicket defeat in the third and final match at the Harare Sports Club.
The 0-3 defeat meant Zimbabwe have never beaten Afghanistan in six series since their first meeting in ODI cricket in 2014.
To add salt to the wound, the just-ended series also carried World Cup Super League points and the Chevrons continued to fare badly in the 13-team league, which is the main qualification pathway for the 2023 ICC World Cup to be held in India.
Zimbabwe are currently second from the bottom with only three wins from 15 matches and 35 points in the bag. Each team earns 10 points for a win, five for a tie/no result/abandoned match, and zero for a loss.
The top eight teams will get a direct entry to the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023. The remaining teams will have to play in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier along with five associate teams.
Two teams from the qualifying tournament will then progress to the World Cup.
Zimbabwe’s hopes are fading by the day while Afghanistan, on the other hand, rose to second place, behind leaders Bangladesh, with 100 points from 12 matches.
They now have 10 wins and two defeats and are now in a good position to secure automatic qualification for the 2023 World Cup.
The Chevrons failed dismally to match Afghanistan in this series.
CricInfo reported that a sterling show by the bowlers yesterday, coupled with an excellent all-round effort from Mohammad Nabi, helped the visitors sweep the series 3-0 and more importantly collect crucial Super League points in Harare.
All six Afghanistan bowlers picked up at least a wicket as Zimbabwe, after being put into bat, folded for 135 in 44.5 overs. On a surface that had a bit in it for the bowlers, Afghanistan struck at regular intervals, never allowing any of the batters to settle.
In reply, the Zimbabwe bowlers, Blessing Muzarabani, in particular, came out all guns blazing but the target never went out of reach for the visitors.
Hashmatullah Shahidi, the captain, and later Nabi, the former captain, kept a calm head as the visitors reached the target with 12.2 overs to spare.
Batting first, Zimbabwe found the going tough right from the start. Tottering at 42/4, the hosts needed someone to hold fort and Sikandar Raza did just that.
He started sedately, while collecting a few boundaries whenever the opportunity arose. He had Regis Chakabva for company for a bit as the duo added 35 runs for the fifth wicket.
But once Chakabva fell lbw to Rashid, another collapse ensued. Raza, looking to increase the run-rate, fell for 38 and shortly after, the Zimbabwe innings folded with more than five overs to spare. Apart from Raza, Ryan Burl was the only batter to cross the score of 20. While Rashid was the pick of the bowlers for Afghanistan, returning 3 for 31 in his 7.5 overs, Nabi and Farooqi took two wickets each.
With nothing to lose, Zimbabwe bowled with aggressive plans up top.
Blessing Muzarabani finished with impeccable figures of 2 for 18, which included three maidens.
Rashid was named Player of the Match for his three wickets, while Rahmat was declared Player of the Series.
With a total of 28 matches having taken pace in between, the tourists have clearly been the dominant side after winning 18 times. Zimbabwe have won 10 ODIs against Afghanistan, as some of the series were close contests.
Online Reporter