Illustrated Story

Afghanistan complete stunning turnaround

Zimbabwe chose to bat and were dented early by Amir Hamza, who trapped Chamu Chibhabha in the third over of the innings  Chris Whiteoak
Hamilton Masakadza then came in and started rebuilding Zimbabwe's innings  Chris Whiteoak
Loading ...
He was joined by Peter Moor to add 101 for Zimbabwe's third wicket  Chris Whiteoak
Timely strikes from Afghanistan's bowlers helped them pull things back in the middle overs  Chris Whiteoak
That, however, did not stop Masakadza from racing to his fourth ODI century  Chris Whiteoak
Zimbabwe's momentum was slightly thwarted in the death overs, and Afghanistan were left staring at a target of 249 to seal the series  Chris Whiteoak
Mohammad Shahzad creamed five fours early on, but was unable to make good on his start, getting bowled for 25  Chris Whiteoak
Luke Jongwe, who took a five-for in the third ODI, once again got among the wickets, his triple-strike reducing Afghanistan to 66 for 3  Chris Whiteoak
Hashmatullah Shahidi led a recovery, scoring a crucial 32 and put up 55 for the fourth wicket with Mohammad Nabi  Chris Whiteoak
But both batsmen were dismissed in quick succession, once again tipping the contest Zimbabwe's way  Chris Whiteoak
Enter Gulbadin Naib  Chris Whiteoak
Naib, who last played an ODI 11 months ago, stunned Zimbabwe by hammering six sixes during a 68-ball 82 to steal a two-wicket win for his team  Chris Whiteoak
The win not only secured the series for Afghanistan 3-2, but ensured the team stormed into the top 10 of the ICC's ODI rankings. The players marked their memorable achievement with wild celebrations  Chris Whiteoak
AfghanistanZimbabweZimbabwe vs AfghanistanZimbabwe tour of United Arab Emirates