Rashid Khan, Rahmanullah Gurbaz extend Zimbabwe's losing streak in T20Is

Rashid Khan, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, and Karim Janat put in impressive performances for Afghanistan in the first T20I match against Zimbabwe. The Afghan trio powered their side to a comfortable 48-run victory at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium on Wednesday.

Man of the Match Gurbaz scored a 45-ball 87 at the top and took his team to 198/5 in 20 overs. In reply, Zimbabwe managed 150/7, with Tinashe Kamunhukamwe the team's top-scorer. Rashid Khan and Karim Janat dismissed five Zimbabwean batsmen in their eight overs to ensure the African side did not stand a chance of chasing the total of 199 runs.

Zimbabwe's losing streak in the game's shortest format extended to six matches courtesy of this loss.

Brief Scores: Afghanistan 198/7 (Rahmanullah Gurbaz 87, Asghar Afghan 55; Blessing Muzarabani 2/38, Richard Ngarava 2/43) beat Zimbabwe 150/7 (Tinashe Kamunhukamwe 44, Sikandar Raza 22; Rashid Khan 3/28, Karim Janat 2/14) by 48 runs.

#1stT20I | Not our day in Abu Dhabi today 😔 On to the next one... 👇#AFGvZIM | #VisitZimbabwe | #BowlOutCovid19 pic.twitter.com/COyuRBT8Ux

— Zimbabwe Cricket (@ZimCricketv) March 17, 2021

Zimbabwean skipper Sean Williams won the toss in Abu Dhabi and invited Afghanistan to bat first. Rahmanullah Gurbaz launched an all-out attack on the bowlers, smacking six fours and seven maximums in his 45-ball knock. Captain Asghar Afghan supported him with a 38-ball 55 at number 3.

At one stage during the match, Afghanistan looked set for a 200+ score. However, Blessing Muzarabani and Richard Ngarava picked up wickets at regular intervals in the final overs to restrict Afghanistan to 198. Mohammad Nabi managed only seven runs from 11 balls while Rashid Khan chipped in with a 3-ball knock of 7 runs.

Karim Janat and Rashid Khan did not allow Zimbabwe easy runs

A terrific victory in Abu Dhabi as Afghanistan take a lead of 1-0 in #AbuDhabiSunshineSeries beating @ZimCricketv by 48 runs in the first T20I. #AFGvZIM pic.twitter.com/60uJEun44z

— Afghanistan Cricket Board (@ACBofficials) March 17, 2021

Zimbabwe got off to a good start and were 106/2 after 13 overs and opener Tinashe Kamunhukamwe and Sikandar Raza look settled in the middle. However, Rashid Khan got the better of Kamunhukamwe on the first ball of the 14th over, while Karim Janat removed Ryan Burl in the next over as the game turned in Afghanistan's favor.

Rashid Khan later sent Richmond Mutumbami and Wesley Madhevere back to the pavilion in the 18th over. The Zimbabwean batsman could aggregate a mere 44 runs in the last seven overs, losing five wickets in that period.

Karim Janat conceded only 14 runs in his four overs and Rashid Khan completed his spell with figures of 3/28. Left-arm pacer Fareed Ahmad also picked up two wickets as Afghanistan went 1-0 up in the 3-match series.

The second T20I of this series will take place at the same venue on Friday.