Cricket is good at knocking down your pride before awarding you for your perseverance. Only a few days after getting crushed in the single test match, Afghanistan entered the T20I series vs Zimbabwe, with their pride battered and burning, questions of whether they can recover from such a test humiliation, and if they will find their swagger again as they transitioned to playing in blue.
Their answer came in 16 overs of brutal intent. The Afghan team’s 76-run opening partnership set the tone for what would be a total domination of Zimbabwe, with Azmatullah Omarzai and Mujeeb Ur Rahman combining for a seven-wicket kill, and Afghanistan would win the first game of the T20I series by 53 runs, thus taking a 1-0 lead. From the humiliation of test cricket to the dominance of T20 cricket, it was just another day of the pendulum swinging of cricket, but this time, only the Afghans made it look like poetry.
When Openers Set the Tone for Redemption
What is it about Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran that creates a sense of fearless and calculated courage when they lead off for Afghanistan? Gurbaz and Zadran were on top of their game as they created a masterclass in controlled aggression against Zimbabwe. The 76-run opening stand from the duo wasn’t about runs alone but also about creating rhythm with each other and the opposition.
Gurbaz hit 3 fours in one over off Richard Ngarava, while Zadran showed everyone again why he is Afghanistan’s most flexible T-20 player by waiting for the right moment, choosing the right bowler to target, and making Zimbabwe’s bowling unit backpedal. At the end of the Power Play (at 66/0), the psychological math had changed; the team that was intimidated by the whites had now made Zimbabwe go after shadows.
Raza’s Mid-Innings Rebellion Briefly Shifts the Plot
Sikandar Raza, the beating heart of Zimbabwe, as usual, pulled his team out of a hole with his unrelenting spirit. He delivered another great example of the will he has shown to alter the course of games through sheer will alone. For a couple of overs, it appeared that Zimbabwe had momentum on its side. After Sikandar’s double wickets, Afghanistan were reduced to 128/5, and it seemed like the opening partnership would be undone.
However, the difference in the behavior of a ‘good’ side versus a ‘growing’ side is the way each side responds when it loses its rhythm. Afghanistan didn’t flinch. The late cameos from Omarzai and Shahidullah Kamal at the end of the innings were well timed, controlled, and full of boundaries, and helped increase the score to 180/6. This late phase control represented an important development in Afghanistan’s growth, playing situational cricket instead of reacting emotionally.
Omarzai’s Breakthrough Spell: Controlled Chaos at Full Tilt
When Azmatullah Omarzai bowls like this, he has that look of Afghanistan’s own version of Hardik Pandya from 2018: fast-paced bowling, determination, and an inherent ability to take wickets in batches.
He demolished Zimbabwe’s top order and left the team at 25-4 after just four overs when he took three wickets for 29 runs. His bowling attack was very much about intelligent, aggressive bowling, with great movement and accurate length, and Zimbabwe’s fragile batsmen were unable to withstand the pressure and simply collapsed.
Mujeeb’s Art of Collapse Engineering
Afghanistan has one bowler in Mujeeb ur Rehman, who is more than just taking wickets – he breaks down the confidence of an opposition. He had taken two for four by the end of his second over, with the removal of Brendan Taylor and another on consecutive deliveries – at this point, the game had changed.
His 4-20 was not simply a matter of taking wickets but a demonstration of control, rhythm, and precision in his bowling. The Zimbabwean’s batting line-up was always going to be under pressure after losing four wickets for 25 runs, and when Mujeeb came back out to bowl to pick up the lower order, the result was almost inevitable.
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