Brittle Afghanistan seek to stay alive

Thursday, October 22
Start time 9.30am local (0730 GMT)

Zimbabwe pulled ahead in the series with their win on Tuesday, but that success wasn't entirely convincing. Zimbabwe did always seem to be just ahead of the game in their chase, but they won with only two balls to spare and, had Afghanistan made the most of their chances in the field, the match would have been much tighter. Top-scorer Richmond Mutumbami was dropped twice on his way to 74, and there were also a handful of misfields which allowed extra runs to be squeezed out of the bowlers.

Yet a win is a win, and the hosts will be pleased that their captain was able to spend significant time in the middle. Elton Chigumbura put on 61 for the fourth wicket with Sean Williams, and then saw Zimbabwe home in Sikandar Raza's company. He finished 49 not out, and seemed to rediscover his timing as his knock progressed. Zimbabwe look a far stronger side when their captain is fit and firing in the middle order, and their focus will be to wrap up the series with a match to spare on Thursday.

Afghanistan are simultaneously one of the most watchable and the most frustrating of the Associate nations. Their no-holds barred approach to the game makes them so exciting to watch means they are also susceptible to batting implosions sparked by the inevitability of their aggressive stroke play. Opener Noor Ali Zadran is one who bucks that trend, and though his strike rate of 51.85 on Tuesday was pedestrian by modern standards, his efforts meant Afghanistan were put into a position of relative safety.

That position was squandered by the middle order, and their brittle middle will be Afghanistan's main concern. The visitors have expressed a preference for batting first so far in this series, with Asghar Stanikzai winning every toss, but it may be time to reconsider that approach.

Zimbabwe WLWLW (last five completed games most recent first)
Afghanistan LWLLL

Richmond Mutumbami prepared very hard for his move up the order this season, facing the new ball in the nets and tightening his technique. Mutumbami was initially unsure if he was ready to make the move when he opened against Pakistan earlier this month, having struggled as a one-day opener against South Africa last year. But he appears to be settling into the role. He is Zimbabwe's top scorer in the series so far, with 139 runs at 46.33, and he has averaged a reasonable 32.71 since switching back to an opening role against Pakistan.

Legspinner Rashid Khan didn't take any wickets on Tuesday, and the bad balls he bowled were very, very bad. But the good ones were virtually unplayable In other words, he's a typical legspinner. He was plucked from the obscurity of Afghanistan's Under19 side to come on this tour, having collected a bagful of wickets in the ACC U-19 Premier League, and though he's still only 17, he has looked the part.

Zimbabwe seem to have struck the right balance with the return of Sean Williams, and are likely to take an unchanged XI into the fourth game.

Zimbabwe (probable): 1 Chamu Chibhabha, 2 Richmond Mutumbami (wk), 3 Craig Ervine, 4 Elton Chigumbura (capt), 5 Sean Williams, 6 Sikandar Raza, 7 Tino Mutombodzi, 8 Luke Jongwe, 9 Tendai Chisoro, 10 Wellington Masakadza, 11 Tinashe Panyangara.

Afghanistan's top order and their bowling department appear settled, but the middle order has proved a persistent worry. Nawroz Mangal, who opened in the first match before dropping into the middle, has scored 6, 2 and 0 in the ODIs, and with the series on the line Afghanistan may be forced to make a change, with one of their two young left-handers - Hashmatullah Shahidi and Najibullah Zadran - waiting in the wings.

Afghanistan (probable): 1 Noor Ali Zadran, 2 Mohammad Shahzad (wk), 3 Mohammad Nabi, 4 Asghar Stanikzai (capt), 5 Hashmatullah Shahidi/Najibullah Zadran, 6 Samiullah Shenwari, 7 Shafiqullah, 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Amir Hamza, 10 Dawlat Zadran, 11 Aftab Alam.

There were 71 overs of spin in a match that lasted 99.4 overs on Tuesday, showing just how important the slow bowlers can be at the Queens Sports Club, particularly when there is no early cloud cover. Similar conditions are expected on Thursday, which should be hot and dry with minimal cloud cover. Yet the pitch remains a good one to bat on for those with an aptitude for playing spin bowling, and the short square boundaries offer the opportunity to score heavily off the sweep shot.

"The guys showed good character, and executed their skills better. The good thing was, the guys were calm under pressure. The focus is on the areas we have to improve." Elton Chigumbura has his team's priorities outlined

"Lack of partnerships in the middle order is affecting us. But we're good at bouncing back, so the boys are confident of turning things around." Noor Ali Zadran thinks not all is lost for Afghanistan