back of a length down the leg side, and it's all over. Jongwe finishes with a five-for as Hamza, looking to glance it off his hips, gets a little tickle through to Mutumbami, who takes another excellent catch, diving to his left this time
Zimbabwe vs Afghanistan, 3rd ODI at Sharjah, Jan 02 2016 - Match Result
8.45pm That's it from all of us here. A very enjoyable game of cricket to bring to you all, and we hope you enjoyed our coverage. I'll leave you with a few comments from our readers. Until next time, good night!
Praneeth: "Hope this win act as the catalyst for Zimbabwe to take the U-turn after a terrible 2015."
Abdul Samad War: "It is not Afghan tigers' mistake it is magic cat power."
Josh: "1st and 3rd games have been rather odd. The team batting first seems to have lost it by the innings break and then then the team batting 2nd makes them look superb. Guess you can never judge a pitch until both sides bat."
8.35pm Time for some quotes from the presentation. First up, Hamilton Masakadza, the man of the match: "Got in at a very difficult time, credit to Cremer for the support he gave me, and the bowlers did very well as well. Cremer has always been a good batsman. I've been on the wrong end of a 170 from him in a first-class game. We managed to bat as long as we wanted to and managed to get a few hits away towards the end. It's good that we've managed to keep the series alive, hope we can keep this momentum."
Asghar Stanikzai: "Our bowlers started very well. Good partnership between Masakadza and Cremer, but a total of 175 was [chaseable]. The wicket is not too difficult but our batsmen played poor shots and their bowlers bowled very well. We have more opportunity in the next game, inshallah we play good cricket."
Elton Chigumbura: "It's a good start to the year. All credit goes to Hamilton, Graeme Cremer, and the two bowlers who gave us a good start. Getting those two wickets in the first over set the tone for us. It's good to see that we've got strike bowlers. I hope Jongwe carries on with the form he showed today. It's important for us in the next game to come out firing again. The way we started with the bat was disappointing. It was important that we bounced back. The way Cremer supported Hamilton was fantastic. To end up on 175 gave us a chance to come and defend the score. It's been a long time since we won a game. It's a good start to the year and I hope we carry on."
10.20pm What a turnaround, and what a win for Zimbabwe. They were 49 for 7 when Masakadza and Cremer came together, and their partnership dragged them to 175. It still looked an inadequate total, but Zimbabwe defended it with some exceptional bowling, even if Afghanistan's technique and shot selection left a lot to be desired. The series has heated up brilliantly now: Afghanistan lead 2-1, and two more matches remain.
length ball sliding into the pad, tucked away through square leg
wow. Drifts in towards off stump and spins like it had the combined revs of Shane Warne and Stuart MacGill's biggest legbreaks, beats the outside edge by a mile
length ball on middle stump, goes on the back foot and punches to long-off
now he flights it and Dawlat goes after it, opening his shoulders as he swings through the line, and hits it straight down the ground, one bounce for four
this one slides straight on as he presses forward to defend, misses the bat by a long way and strikes the front pad low down. In front of middle stump. I have no idea how that was not given out.
flattish length ball turning from leg to off, defended with soft hands, bottom hand nowhere near the handle
Here's Graeme Cremer.
Praneeth : "Oh my goodness! The last time I checked the score, Zimbabwe were at 55/7. Didn't check back thinking the game is over for them. But now, it's all over for Afghans at 50/9. Can someone tell me what the hell happened in between?" -- Take a long, close look at the scorecard, my friend. And also Vishal Dikshit's innings report, which will soon be updated to include the rest of the match.
shortish, angling into off stump. Hamza rides the bounce well and defends with soft hands towards point
full, angling into off stump, defended solidly into the covers
full on middle and off, and Dawlat is squared up looking to work it into the leg side. Ball runs away to third man off the back of his bat
length ball wide of off, Dawlat leaves again, and it carries at over head height to the keeper
length ball outside off, no footwork from Dawlat and he plays and misses
fullish on off stump, blocked back towards the bowler
full outside off, driven to mid-off, and Namibia's record is safe
bouncer, he didn't know too much about it. Ducked into it, and it lobbed up behind the wicket off his shoulder
The shortest all-out innings in ODIs was Namibia's 14 overs against Australia during the 2003 World Cup. Two more balls for Afghanistan to avoid setting a new record.
edged, falls short of slip. Length ball outside off, no footwork as he pokes at it, and the edge dies just short of Masakadza
full outside off, stretches out and defends towards backward point
back of a length wide of off, left alone
length ball on middle stump, and Dawlat brings his bat down at the very last moment to defend to mid-on
length ball on off stump, blocked back to the bowler
1W | ||||
1W | 1W | |||
1W |
1W | ||||
1W | ||||
2W | ||||
Sharjah Cricket Stadium | |
Toss | Zimbabwe, elected to bat first |
Series | |
Season | 2015/16 |
Player Of The Match | |
Series result | Afghanistan led the 5-match series 2-1 |
Match number | ODI no. 3719 |
Hours of play (local time) | 15.00 start, First Session 15.00-18.30, Interval 18.30-19.15, Second Session 19.15-22.45 |
Match days | 2 January 2016 - daynight (50-over match) |
Umpires | |
TV Umpire | |
Reserve Umpire | |
Match Referee |