Azmatullah Omarzai in action© AFP

ZIM vs AFG Live Scorecard 2nd ODI© AFP

Zimbabwe vs Afghanistan 2nd T20I Live Score Updates© X (Twitter)

Zimbabwe vs Afghanistan 2nd T20I LIVE Streaming: When And Where To Watch© AFP

Rahmanullah Gurbaz hit a cracking century and Azmatullah Omarzai showed allround skills on Monday to give Afghanistan a five wicket victory in the third ODI and a series win over Bangladesh. Omarzai took four wickets before hitting an undefeated 77-ball 70 and Opener Gurbaz hit a 120-ball 101 as Afghanistan chased down a 245-run target in 48.2 overs in Sharjah. Bangladesh were lifted to 244-8 by Mohammad Mahmudullah, run out off the last ball of the innings for run-a-ball 98, and a solid 66 by stand-in skipper Mehidy Hasan Miraz.

The victory gave Afghanistan a 2-1 win in the series in Sharjah. Afghanistan won the first match by 92 runs while Bangladesh took the second by 68 runs.

The series win is Afghanistan’s third successive this year, having also beaten Ireland (2-0) and South Africa (2-1) following their wins over England, Pakistan and Sri Lanka in last year’s World Cup in India.

Bangladesh pacers Mustafizur Rahman (2-50) and Nahid Rana (2-40) had jolted Afghanistan to 84-3 before Gurbaz and Omarzai added 100 for the fourth wicket.

Gurbaz, who hit seven sixes and five boundaries in his eighth ODI century, fell in the 39th over with 61 needed as Bangladesh pressed. 

Omarzai hit five sixes and three boundaries added 58 runs with Mohammad Nabi (27-ball 34) to avoid any turnaround, hitting the winning six.

Afghanistan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi said he was proud of his team.

“I am very happy as a captain,” said Shahidi. “When we lost the toss we were a bit worried because it’s tough to bat second in Sharjah but our batters did very well.”

Miraz praised Afghanistan

“I think credit goes to Afghanistan the way they played in this series,” said Miraz. “Gurbaz and Omarzai did very well and we couldn’t get wickets to win the match.”

Earlier, Bangladesh, without injured skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto, were given a sound 53-run start by Soumya Sarkar (24) and Tanzid Hasan (19) before four wickets fell in for 19 runs in 38 balls.

Mahmudullah and Miraz repaired the innings with a 155-run fifth wicket stand as they blunted Afghanistan spinners, who managed just two wickets between them.

Miraz became one of Omarzai’s victim in the 46th over but Mahmudullah continued to bat solidly till he was run out off the last ball, trying to sneak a second run.

Mahmudullah hit three sixes and seven fours while Miraz’s 119-ball knock contained four fours.

Omarzai took a career best 4-37, improving on his 3-56 against Sri Lanka at Pallekele earlier this year.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz hit a superb century before leg-spin magician Rashid Khan marked his 26th birthday by taking five wickets as Afghanistan thrashed South Africa by 177 runs in the second ODI on Friday. Gurbaz hit 105 as Afghanistan made 311-4 before the Proteas lost nine wickets for 61 runs to be bowled out for just 134 in the 35th over. It was the seventh century in the 22-year-old’s Gurbaz’s ODI career and included 10 fours and three sixes. 

“I had a hamstring injury but I try my best to stay on the ground and do my best for the team,” said man-of-the-match Rashid after taking 5-19. 

“It was a great opportunity for us to win the series against a big team, so I had to stay till the end.”

Two days after winning the first ODI by six wickets, Afghanistan made a bright start as the openers capitalised on winning the toss. 

Gurbaz and Riaz Hassan added 88 for the first wicket before Aiden Markram had Hassan leg before for 29. 

That brought in Rahmat Shah (50) who shared a 101-run partnership with Gurbaz before the opener fell shortly after reaching his milestone, bowled by Nandre Burger for 105. 

The innings slowed with that dismissal although Azmatullah Omarzai hit the accelerator with a rapid, undefeated 50-ball 86 which included six sixes, to ensure an awkward chase for the Proteas.

In reply, South Africa’s openers, skipper Temba Bavuma, who top-scored with 38, and Tony de Zorzi (31) put on 73 for the first wicket.

But once they had departed, the Proteas fell apart.

Leg-spin star Rashid took 5-19 from nine overs and was ably supported by rookie off-spinner Nangeyalia Kharote who enjoyed figures of 4-26 in just just his third ODI appearance.

“I think the job for openers is to lay the foundation but wickets started falling and we came unstuck against spin,” said Bavuma.

“It was not a good enough performance. We were not able to take ten wickets and that’s a conversation we need to have. They were a lot better than us clinically.”

Rashid’s haul took his career total to 190 wickets in the format.

He dismissed middle-order dangermen Tristan Stubbs (five), Kyle Verreynne (two) and Wiaan Mulder (two) for the addition of just eight runs in back-to-back overs.

With the series wrapped up, Afghanistan will look to complete a whitewash in the third and final match in Sharjah on Sunday.

Afghanistan vs New Zealand, One-Off Test Day 2, Live Updates© AFP

Several records were broken during the T20 World Cup 2024, Group C match between West Indies and Afghanistan on Tuesday. Asked to bat first, West Indies posted 218/5 in 20 overs with Nicholas Pooran playing a blistering knock of 98 off 53 balls. So far, this was the highest total in the ongoing T20 World Cup. However, the main highlight of the innings was Pooran’s entry into elite list of batters, who smashed 36 runs in an over in a World Cup match.

The memorable feat achieved in the fourth over, when Pooran unleashed his fury on Afghanistan all-rounder Azmatullah Omarzai.

In that over, the 28-year-old batter smashed three sixes and three boundaries. To make things worse, Omarzai ended bowling one no-ball, where Pooran again smashed a boundary. Later, he also leaked five runs from wide. 

This was the second time in 2024 that 36 runs were scored in an over against Afghanistan. Earlier this year, the Indian duo of Rohit Sharma and Rinku Singh also achieved the same feat, when they thrashed Karim Janat. 

Apart from this, the Caribbean side registered the record for the highest powerplay score in the history of the T20 World Cup. They scored 92 in the first six overs and surpassed the previous record of 91 runs set by the Netherlands against Ireland in 2014 in Bangladesh’s Sylhet International Stadium.

England is ranked third in the list of powerplay scoring, having scored 89 runs against South Africa at Mumbai’s iconic Wankhede Stadium in 2016.

Talking about the overall stats, this was the fourth highest powerplay score in the history of T20Is. The highest score was 102/0, registered by South Africa against West Indies in 2023. 

Pooran also registered the highest individual score in the ongoing T20 World Cup. The 28-year-old batter scored 98 in 53 balls to help his team reach a dangerous 218-run total in the final group game before the Super Eight phase.

The wicketkeeper-batter broke the previous mark of 94 not out set by Aaron Jones of the United States versus Canada.

(With ANI Inputs)