Zimbabwe vs Afghanistan, 1st T20I at Harare, ZIM vs AFG, Dec 11 2024 - Ball by Ball Commentary

5:27pm That will be all from us tonight. We hope you enjoyed our coverage. Stay tuned to ESPNcricinfo for all the updates from the cricketing world, and until next time, this is goodbye from Ranjith and myself. Take care!

Brian Bennett, Player of the Match: It is always nice to contribute to the team winning. Credit to Musekiwa at the end as well. (On the pitch) Obviously not the start I wanted. But in T20 cricket, you have a lot more time than you think. Sticking to my processes and watching the ball (was my approach). Nice to bat with Myers, he is a good mate of mine. We were thinking if we could keep up with the run-rate and keep it under tens, we have a good chance.

Sikandar Raza, Zimbabwe captain: Zimbabwe needed that victory. We really needed it for the changing room and for the fans to start believing. A win like that basically will tell us where we went wrong. Sometimes, the result is not in our control. We have agreed to give it everything we have for the nation. When we come back to the dressing room, we should feel tired mentally and physically. We spent a lot of time identifying he (Musekiwa) could be a finisher. It will do him a world of good and hopefully he starts believing in his ability as much as we do. When you have a young squad, if you get a 70-80 and then get a low score…but when you have a guy who fights for his country, to have three tough games against Pakistan and then to do that today, could not be happier and prouder (of Musekiwa). (On reaching 100 T20I appearances) I just want to thank God. It has been a tough journey, I never thought I would get to 100 (T20I matches). To see myself standing here, if it was not the love and support from the fans, or the support from the nation or the board or my teammates (and the support staff in the dressing room), I would not be here.

Rashid Khan, Afghanistan captain: We wanted to put up a good total on the board. We were only 15-17 runs short, it was still a good total. Nabi and Karim played really well in the middle. We gave away so many wickets early on and in T20s, it is hard to come back. We could have bowled better than that (what we did). As a professional player, you have to adjust - that is something you have to do early in the tour. You spend some time and then react. Whenever we come here, we talk about assessing the conditions. Later on, we have the shots. It is hard to bat if you don't really see the wicket. The way he (Nabi) bowled, he brought us back in the game, he got a crucial wicket. We have so many options, so at times, it is hard to decide as skipper. It is just about deciding what the team needs at that time.

Farai Leboho: "Well, this was entertaining."

Tashinga Musekiwa: It is really an honour to be playing for Zimbabwe. Felt it today with the love the boys gave up. Amazing for me to be in the team. Day before yesterday, I went to see Elton Chigumbura. He is my mentor, he told me to calm myself and to let the practice that I have done all these years to do the job. The boys, the way they played, it was tough to strike the ball early. In the end, we managed to use the big space and it paid off in the end.

5:05pm Phew. What a game that was. It ebbed one way, then flowed the other. One moment, Naveen was bowling a 13-ball over and giving away 19, and then Rashid was picking up two in the over to swing it back into Afghanistan's favour. But when push came to shove at the end, it was Zimbabwe who held their nerve, hunting down 21 off the last two. Musekiwa and Masakadza ran Afghanistan ragged and also found the fence when they needed to.

This was preceded by two very handy top-order knocks, courtesy Bennett and Myers. Neither rattled along at breakneck speed, but did enough to ensure Zimbabwe were always in the game and Afghanistan were always feeling the pinch. Rashid bagged two for the visitors but like his spell, they were not consistent throughout, which is probably what they will want to rectify, especially with the series now on the line on Friday.

Last ball coming up. Afghanistan need a dot or a wicket to tie this game. Anything else, and Zimbabwe will be home and dry. A major conference between the Afghanistan players. Keeper has one glove off. There is a fielder at a very straight short mid wicket, to back up at the bowler's end

Musekiwa is taking several deep breaths and now has his partner for company. 3 off 3. Afghanistan under the pump

5 off 4. Zimbabwe's game to lose from here. Short third, short fine leg, backward point and extra cover in the ring

7 off 5

We are down to the final over, and this game still feels deadlocked. Zimbabwe need 11 to win. A ten and the game will be tied. Anything lesser, and Afghanistan will take a 1-0 lead. Omarzai to bowl. Musekiwa on strike

13 off 7. Can Masakadza find the fence again?

Four legal balls, all in succession and no, this is not a drill. Naveen has bowled well this over and will want to close it out now. Can Masakadza throw a spanner in those works? 17 off 8. Around the wicket

Azweer : "Need one good over from a Afghan bowler." -- Afghanistan have had two in succession, and that has tilted the game their way

Seems like Naveen injured his hand while collecting the throw. The physio has come out for treatment. Another member of the squad is out there too, with a few bottles of water and maybe an instruction

21 needed off the last two. Naveen has the ball in hand. What will he come up with this time?

25 off 18. Game right back in the balance. Who bowls these three overs? Nabi could bowl two and Mujeeb could bowl one, if Afghanistan decide against going to pace. Mujeeb it is for now

Musekiwa in at 7