{"id":2815,"date":"2026-10-20T08:36:45","date_gmt":"2026-10-20T08:36:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/2026\/10\/20\/afghanistan-crushes-zimbabwe-odi-abu-dhabi\/"},"modified":"2026-10-20T08:36:45","modified_gmt":"2026-10-20T08:36:45","slug":"afghanistan-crushes-zimbabwe-odi-abu-dhabi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/2026\/10\/20\/afghanistan-crushes-zimbabwe-odi-abu-dhabi\/","title":{"rendered":"Afghanistan crushes Zimbabwe by 158 runs in Abu Dhabi ODI"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<!-- Quick Adsense WordPress Plugin: http:\/\/quickadsense.com\/ -->\n<div class=\"9fece8afa224fd09e54b043d0febfb58\" data-index=\"1\" style=\"float: none; margin:10px 0 10px 0; text-align:center;\">\n<script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- NR ATF -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-8898941184964366\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"4839033563\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script>\n<\/div>\n<p>Afghanistan recorded a commanding 158\u2011run win over Zimbabwe at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Monday, October 19. The Afghan side posted 294 all\u2011out in their full 50 overs, powered by a century from Sediqullah Atal and a near\u2011century from Ibrahim Zadran. Zimbabwe\u2019s chase of 295 collapsed dramatically, the visitors being dismissed for 136 in 38.4 overs, a result that lifted Afghanistan\u2019s net run rate to +3.160 and left the final spot in the tournament to be decided between Zimbabwe and Bangladesh.<\/p>\n<h2>Afghanistan\u2019s Batting Power Play<\/h2>\n<p>Winning the toss, Afghanistan elected to bat first and immediately set a brisk tempo. Both openers struck boundaries early, compiling a 50\u2011run partnership within the first seven overs. The opening stand was broken when Rahmanullah Gurbaz fell while attempting a chop shot. Despite the early wicket, the innings continued to flow as Ibrahim Zadran settled in and began to rotate the strike fluently.<\/p>\n<p>At the other end, Sediqullah Atal arrived and soon joined Zadran in a methodical partnership that would prove decisive. The duo built a meticulous century stand, each passing the fifty\u2011run mark. Atal\u2019s innings, his third ODI hundred, was anchored on a blend of timing and placement, while Zadran, just ten runs shy of a hundred, contributed a solid 90.\n<\/p>\n<p>The partnership was finally broken in the 32nd over when New Zealand bowler Brad Evans claimed Zadran\u2019s wicket, leaving him 10 runs short of a personal milestone. Afghanistan suffered a brief setback as Rahmat Shah and Azmatullah Omarzai fell in quick succession, but a 42\u2011run stand between Atal and Hashmatullah Shahidi steadied the innings. Atal reached his three\u2011figure score in the 44th over before being run\u2011out in the following over. The final four overs saw Afghanistan add five boundaries, though they also lost five wickets, ultimately being bowled out for 294.<\/p>\n<p>Key bowling figures for the opposition included Ernest Masuku\u2019s three wickets for 44 runs, while Brad Evans finished with three for 48.<\/p>\n<h2>Zimbabwe\u2019s Collapse Under Spin<\/h2>\n<p>Chasing a target of 295, Zimbabwe required 196 runs to ensure a repeat of the contest in the final scheduled for Friday, October 23. Their innings began poorly when Afghanistan\u2019s pace bowler Fazalhaq Farooqi dismissed Ben Curran with a \u201chooping inswinger\u201d in the third over, and then removed Tafadzwa Tsiga in the seventh.\n<\/p>\n<p>Opening batsman Brian Bennett, who had struck a boundary off the very first delivery, was soon trapped LBW by Afghanistan\u2019s AM Ghazanfar in the 13th over, leaving Zimbabwe at 43 for 4. The early loss of wickets forced the team to abandon any realistic chase of 295 and instead aim for the 196\u2011run safety threshold.\n<\/p>\n<p>Zimbabwe managed a brief resurgence through a 64\u2011run partnership between Ryan\u202fBurl and Sikandar\u202fRaza, reaching the 100\u2011run mark in the 30th over. However, the partnership was short\u2011lived. Rashid Khan, Afghanistan\u2019s premier leg\u2011spinner, dismissed Burl LBW just two overs later and then claimed Raza\u2019s wicket in the 36th over, effectively ending any hope of recovery.\n<\/p>\n<p>Rashid\u2019s spell was the most damaging for Zimbabwe, as he finished with four wickets for just 17 runs. He also claimed the wicket of the opposition\u2019s lower order in each of his next three overs, cementing the dominance of Afghanistan\u2019s spin attack. The innings concluded with Wellington Masakadza run\u2011out in the 39th over, sealing a 158\u2011run defeat.\n<\/p>\n<p>Other notable figures for Zimbabwe included Sikandar Raza\u2019s 48 runs and Ryan Burl\u2019s 31, while Afghanistan\u2019s Fazalhaq Farooqi contributed two wickets for 15 runs.<\/p>\n<h2>Implications for the Tournament<\/h2>\n<p>The comprehensive victory not only boosted Afghanistan\u2019s net run rate to +3.160 but also effectively left Zimbabwe and Bangladesh to contest the remaining final berth. With a sizable margin of 158 runs, Afghanistan demonstrated both batting depth and a potent bowling unit capable of dismantling a chase at any stage.\n<\/p>\n<p>Afghanistan\u2019s performance highlighted the impact of Sediqullah Atal\u2019s ability to convert starts into big scores, as well as Rashid Khan\u2019s continued proficiency in restricting opposition totals in the limited\u2011overs format. The win also underscored the challenges Zimbabwe faces in adapting to spin\u2011friendly conditions, a factor that will be pivotal in their upcoming matches.\n<\/p>\n<p>As the tournament moves toward its climax, Afghanistan\u2019s dominant display positions them as strong contenders for the title, while the battle for the second final spot promises a tightly contested finale between Zimbabwe and Bangladesh.<\/p>\n\n<div style=\"font-size: 0px; height: 0px; line-height: 0px; margin: 0; padding: 0; clear: both;\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Afghanistan posted 294\/10 and bowled out Zimbabwe for 136 in Abu Dhabi, securing a 158\u2011run victory that puts them ahead in the tournament race.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":2816,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[299],"tags":[1435,1400,1402,3123,3122],"class_list":["post-2815","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-afghanistan-cricket","tag-odi","tag-rashid-khan","tag-sediqullah-atal","tag-zimbabwe-cricket","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2815","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2815"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2815\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2816"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2815"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2815"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2815"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}