Afghans clinch a cliffhanger in 1st T20I

Afghanistan beat Zimbabwe by five runs in a thrilling Twenty20 International (T20I) clash on Friday (January 8) to follow their triumph in the one-day series.

Chasing 188 to win, Zimbabwe fell just short when Luke Jongwe, needing a six to win, was dismissed off the last ball of the match. It was a controversial finish, however, after Dawlat Zadran, Afghanistan seamer, was allowed to keep bowling the final over despite having sent down two waist-high full tosses.

Jongwe was caught by Gulbadin Naib out in the deep to leave Zimbabwe on 182-7 in their 20 overs. Malcolm Waller was the not out batsman on 49 with two sixes and two boundaries off 37 balls. Zadran finished with figures of 3 for 32 in his four overs.

Opting to bat first, Afghanistan posted 187 for 7 in their 20 overs. Usman Ghani top-scored with 42 off 38 balls, an essay including a six and five boundaries while man-of-the-match Naib made 37 and Mohammad Shahzad, 33. Veteran off-spinner Graeme Cremer returned impressive figures of 3-17.

The second and final match will be held at the same venue on Sunday.

Brief scores:

Afghanistan 187-7 (Usman Ghani 42, Gulbadin Naib 37, Mohammad Shahzad 33; Graeme Cremer 3-17) beat Zimbabwe 182-7 (Malcolm Waller 49 not out, Hamilton Masakadza 33; Dawlat Zadran 3-32) by 5 runs