CRICKET
Zimbabwe Afghanistan 2nd ODI Predictions
Zimbabwe will lock horns with Afghanistan in the second One Day International on 6th June (Monday) at the Harare Sports Club.
The first match of the series saw the visitors registering a comfortable victory over Zimbabwe to gain an early lead in the three-match ODI series.
Batting first, Afghanistan managed to post 276-5 on the scoreboard.
The Zimbabwe bowlers dismissed both the Afghan openers early on but a superb partnership between Hashmatullah Shahidi and Rahmat Shah brought Afghanistan back into the game.
These two added 181 runs for the 3rd wicket but unfortunately, both of them failed to reach the three-figure mark.
Hashmatullah Shahidi and Rahmat Shah scored 94 and 88 runs respectively for their side.
Rashid Khan remained unbeaten after playing a quick-fire cameo of 39 runs from just 17 balls including 4 fours and 2 sixes in the death overs.
Blessing Muzarabani picked up 4 wickets for Zimbabwe in that game.
Later, the Afghan bowlers bowled superbly and troubled the opposition batters as they never stood any chance of chasing the target.
Zimbabwe lost the match by 60 runs as they were bowled out for just 216 runs. Mohammad Nabi picked up 3 wickets for 34 runs while Rashid Khan and Fazalhaq Faroqi grabbed two wickets each for Afghanistan.
Match details
Teams: Afghanistan vs Zimbabwe
Match: 2nd ODI, 2022.
Venue: Harare Sports Club, Harare
Date: 6th June, Monday
Head to head record
Here is the head-to-head record between Afghanistan and Zimbabwe in ODI cricket.
Total Matches Played: 25
Afghanistan won: 15
Zimbabwe won: 10
Tie/no results: 0
Pitch Report
The pitch at the Harare Sports Club is excellent for batting.
The ball comes nicely onto the bat so, the batters can freely play their strokes right from the start of their innings. T
he spinners will also come into play as the match progresses and both teams will like to bat first on this pitch.
Zimbabwe Probable Playing 11
Regis Chakabva (wk), Innocent Kaia, Craig Ervine ©, Wesley Madhevere, Sikandar Raza, Milton Shumba, Ryan Burl, Donald Tiripano, Tendai Chatara, Tanaka Chivanga, Blessing Muzarabani
Afghanistan Probable Playing 11
Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi ©, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Fareed Ahmad Malik
Star bowler of the match
Blessing Muzarabani is a very promising young fast bowler and he has become the backbone of Zimbabwe’s bowling attack in a very short period.
The tall pacer claimed a brilliant four-wicket haul in the previous match and he is likely to shine once again with the ball for Zimbabwe in the 2nd ODI.
Star batsman of the match
Rahmat Shah is one of the key batters in the Afghan lineup.
The right-handed batsman played a brilliant knock of 94 runs in the 1st ODI to help his side reach a match-winning total.
Rahmat Shah is expected to score another good knock in the second match.
Star all-rounder of the match
Rashid Khan was excellent with both bat and ball in the 1st match of this series.
He smashed 39 runs off just 17 deliveries in the death overs for his side.
Rashid Khan also picked up two wickets with the ball and he is will be the star all-rounder in the 2nd match of this series
Who will win?
Zimbabwe was completely outplayed by the Afghan side in the first match of the series.
Afghanistan has a very well-balanced and experienced side.
They have world-class spinners in their bowling lineup which is the main threat to Zimbabwe.
Afghanistan will be looking to win the 2nd match and take an unaccessible 2-0 lead in the 3-match series.
On the other hand, Zimbabwe will have to put their best performance to challenge the strong bowling attack of Afghanistan and keep the series alive.
Zimbabwe mostly relies on Muzarabani in their bowling attack which is their biggest weakness.
Afghanistan is looking better as compared to their opposition in all three departments of the game and they are favorites to win the 2nd match of the series.