Online Reporter
Eddie Chikamhi
Zimpapers Sports Hub
TASHINGA Musekiwa held his nerve and scored the winning runs as Zimbabwe ended a five-year jinx against Afghanistan in a thrilling finish of the first T20I at Harare Sports Club yesterday.
The Chevrons held on to a well-worked-out four-wicket win in this see-saw affair that had to be decided off the final ball.
With one run needed to win after a roller-coaster day for both teams, new boy Musekiwa had the final say when he sent Ormazai Azmatullah down the long-on boundary to ignite frenzied reactions from the fans that had endured the sweltering heat to back the home team.
Musekiwa scored 16 runs in a 13-ball cameo as Zimbabwe reached 145/6 in their 20 overs.
“It is really an honour to be playing for Zimbabwe; I felt it today with the love the boys gave. It’s amazing for me to be on the team. The day before yesterday, I went to see (former Zimbabwe captain) Elton Chigumbura.
“He is my mentor; he told me to calm myself and to let the practice that I have done all these years do the job. The boys, the way they played, it was tough to strike the ball early. In the end, we managed to use the big space, and it paid off in the end,” said Musekiwa.
The Chevrons needed 11 runs in the last over, and the 24-year-old got just enough with his bat to see the home team over the line after the match had come down to the last ball.
Zimbabwe leads the three-match series 1-0, with the next two matches scheduled for Friday and Saturday at the same venue. They had last won against Afghanistan in 2019.
The visitors started off with a lot of difficulty against Zimbabwe’s combination of seam and spin bowling but eventually settled for a decent 144/6 in their allotted overs.
The target was still a significant ask for the hosts considering the Afghans are good at defending low totals, as they demonstrated during this year’s T20 World Cup in the West Indies when they defended 115 runs.
Zimbabwe’s bowlers were rewarded early in the game with Richard Ngarava removing Rahmanullah Gurbaz three balls into the first over before the visitors slid to 33/4 after five overs.
The bowlers made sure there were no enduring partnerships as the visitors stuttered to 58/5 in 11 overs.
However, Janat and Mohammed Nabi found a way out of the muddle in a 79-run sixth-wicket partnership, of course with a bit of help from some fielding mishaps.
The pair targeted Trevor Gwandu in the 17th over, which turned out to be the turning point of the innings after yielding 20 runs to ensure the visitors had a decent finish.
Nabi, who was the fastest of the two batsmen, was unlucky not to add to his tally of half centuries after miscuing Ngarava in the penultimate over. His 44 runs came off just 27 balls.
Ngarava was the toast of the Zimbabwean bowlers with figures of 3-28. Blessing Muzarabani, Trevor Gwandu, and Wellington Masakadza claimed a wicket each.
Zimbabwe skipper Sikandar Raza, who received a cap from ODI captain Craig Ervine to mark his 100th T20I appearance for Zimbabwe, had a subdued day in the office.
However, Raza believes Musekiwa could be the kind of finisher his team has been yearning for, following his composure under intense pressure from the Afghan bowlers yesterday.
“We spent a lot of time identifying he could be a finisher,” said Raza.
“It will do him a world of good, and hopefully he starts believing in his ability as much as we do. When you have a young squad, if you get a 70-80 and then get a low score . . . but when you have a guy who fights for his country, to have three tough games against Pakistan and then to do that today, I could not be happier and prouder.”
Opening batsman Brian Bennett was named Man of the Match for his 49 runs earlier on, which helped Zimbabwe set the foundation in a difficult chase.
After losing the opening batter Tadiwa Marumani (9) with only 11 runs on the board for Zimbabwe, Bennett and Dion Myers progressed steadily before the partnership was disturbed by veteran Mohammad Nabi, with 75 runs between them.
But at 86/2 from 13.2 overs, the game was still evenly balanced.
The Afghan bowlers were probably beginning to feel the pressure, as Naveen Ul-Haq conceded five no-ball runs and bowled six wides in a weird 15th over that also claimed a crucial wicket of Raza. Zimbabwe needed 11 to win in the last over, and the equation was down to three from three and then one from one. “It is always nice to contribute to the team winning,” said Bennett.
“Credit to Musekiwa at the end as well . . . Nice to bat with Myers; he is a good mate of mine. We were thinking if we could keep up with the run rate and keep it under tens, we have a good chance.”
