Zimbabwe came into the third and final encounter of the three-match T20I series on the back of a 1-1 series result at the Harare Sports Club. They had a thrilling run chase in the very first contest before the Rashid Khan-led side made a gorgeous comeback in the series. All the attention was on the final game.
Losing the toss on a brand new surface, the Zimbabwe side was put into the bat. The last two encounters had given an example of how hard it had been to chase a score with the wickets being slowed down, making it hard for the batters to face the spinners and those who use their variations quite a lot.
Brian Bennett had a decent start in the opening position, as he put up a 37-run partnership with the number three batter of the side, Dion Myers, who ended on 13 in 12 balls with the help of one boundary. Wessly Madhevere never finds the timing and rhythm in the entire knock of 21 runs in 22 balls, shouldering on two boundaries.
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Zimbabwe wasn’t getting the firepower in their batting at any stage, with three down for 57 runs on the first ball of the ninth over. But the biggest setback for them was the wicket of their captain, Sikandar Raza, who could manage just six runs in seven deliveries.
Zimbabwe players fined for slow over-rate offense during third T20I vs Afghanistan
Faraz Akram followed him into the dressing room after collecting six runs as the home side lost their six wickets in the 15th over. They kept on falling like a pack of cards for the entire batting before finishing on 127 in their 19.5 overs.
The only possible way for Zimbabwe to get a victory in the fixture was by taking early wickets. And they exactly did that. Rahmanullah Gurbaz, the wicket-keeper batter from Afghanistan, walked back to the hut for his run-a-ball 15 before the next three batters, Atal, Zubaid Akbari, and Darwish Rasooli, the ‘Player of the Match’ from the last T20I, could add single digit scores besides their name.
At 44/4 in the seventh over, the home side was in a good position to earn the victory. But Azmatullah Omarzai played a sensible knock of 34 runs in 37 balls, with the contribution of 22 runs at a strike rate of 100 from their former captain, Gulbadin Naib. The biggest aggression from the visitors in the chase came from their veteran spin all-rounder, Mohammad Nabi.
The latter smashed an unbeaten 24 runs in 18 balls with the help of three boundaries to carry them over the line with three balls to spare and as many wickets in hand. But Zimbabwe, due to their slow over-rate, was fined 10 percent of their match fee.
All the charges were labeled by the two on-field umpires, Iknow Chabi and Forster Mutizwa, the third umpire, Percival Sizara, and the fourth umpire, Langston Rusere.
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Sikandar Raza, the Zimbabwe captain, pleaded guilty to the offense as he accepted the sanctions raised by the Emirates ICC Elite Panel Match Referee, Andy Pycroft. The charges were labeled by Article 2.22 for the ICC code of conduct for the players and support staff which relates to the minimum over-rate offence.
The players are fined five percent of their match fee for every over their side fails to bowl in the allotted time. Zimbabwe was short of two overs in the third game. They will now start their preparation for the opening of the three-match ODI series, starting on December 17 in Harare, before the action shifts to two Tests in Bulawayo.