Hello and welcome to CricketCountry’s live cricket blog of the third One-Day International (ODI) match between Zimbabwe and Afghanistan on Tuesday. The match will be played at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo. The five-match ODI series between the two teams, who occupy the bottom rung of the cricket teams that play at the international level, is tied up 1-1 after two ODIs. Zimbabwe and Afghanistan have both proven that this series will be a closely-fought affair, with none among them being outright favourites. Both the teams have produced commanding performances in the series so far, and thus the third ODI becomes crucial as it may prove which team among Zimbabwe or Afghanistan is stronger. Catch live cricket scorecard of Zimbabwe vs Afghanistan 3rd ODI at Bulawayo
LIVE CRICKET SCORE AFGHANISTAN 149/6 in 40 overs: BATTING: Shafiqullah 2(9), Rashid Khan 0(5). With a score well below the par score, the game seems slipping away from the Afghan side. Zim make a brilliant comeback with the bowlers.
OUT! Samiullah Shenwari b Masakadza 14 (30). 200 seems very difficult at this stage.
*CONFIRMED NEWS: VIRENDER SEHWAG RETIRES FROM ALL FORMATS OF INTERNATIONAL CRICKET*
OUT! Mohammad Nabi run out 42 (54). Again a shocker comes Afghanistan’s way.
OUT! Asghar Stanikzai c †Mutumbami b Jongwe 0 (3). Yet another loss for Afghanistan. Zimbabwe in full control of the game.
OUT! Nawroz Mangal c Jongwe b Chisoro 0 (2). Back to back wickets for Chisoro.
OUT! Noor Ali Zadran b Chisoro 56 (108). Chisoro gets a set Zadran as Zimbabwe get a break through.
LIVE CRICKET SCORE AFGHANISTAN 123/1 in 30 overs: BATTING: Mohammad Nabi 34( 44) , Noor Ali Zadran 56(106). Another clean six over long on, this time from Noor Ali Zadran. Slowly and steadily he made his half cent. Mohammad Nabi has showed his class in the previous match and has to perform lie that in this match as well. Zimbabwe need to attack.
LIVE CRICKET SCORE AFGHANISTAN 96/1 in 25 overs: BATTING: Mohammad Nabi 22( 30) , Noor Ali Zadran 41(90). The acceleration of runs has stopped and runs are coming in singles or doubles. Just a single boundary in the last five overs from Nabi to Sean Williams
LIVE CRICKET SCORE AFGHANISTAN 67/1 in 19 overs: Noor Ali Zadran 31(74), Mohammad Nabi 5(11). Huge appeal for lbw discarded for height. Good rotation of bowlers by Zimbabwe skipper. Afghanistan batsmen taking time to settle down.
OUT! Mohammad Shahzad b Williams 30( 30), Afghanistan 51/1 after 14 overs. Danger man Shahzad departs
LIVE CRICKET SCORE AFGHANISTAN 47/0 in 12 overs: Finally some good news for the bowlers as boundaries are not coming as often. Both the batsmen are rotating the strike as well as keeping the scoreboard going with 1s or 2s. BATTING: Mohammad Shahzad 30(28), Noor Ali Zadran 17(48).
LIVE CRICKET SCORE AFGHANISTAN 35/0 in 8 overs: Mohammad Shahzad 22(18), Noor Ali Zadran 11(31). Shahzad on fire. Coming down the crease, he sends Masakadza over the long on for a perfect sixer. It’s raining boundaries in Bulawayo.
LIVE CRICKET SCORE AFGHANISTAN 25/0 in 4 overs: Mohammad Shahzad showing his class. Hit 3 boudaries in the three initial overs.
TOSS: Afghanistan have won the toss and they will be batting first against the hosts Zimbabwe.
Playing XI:
Zimbabwe: Chamu Chibhabha, Richmond Mutumbami (wk), Craig Ervine, Elton Chigumbura (c), Sean Williams, Sikandar Raza, Tino Mutombodzi, Luke Jongwe, Tendai Chisoro, Wellington Masakadza, Tinashe Panyangara.
Afghanistan: Noor Ali Zadran, Mohammad Shahzad (wk), Mohammad Nabi, Asghar Stanikzai (c), Nawroz Mangal, Shafiqullah, Samiullah Shenwari, Rashid Khan, Amir Hamza, Dawlat Zadran, Aftab Alam.
In the first ODI at Bulawayo, the hosts were at their commanding best as they handed out an eight-wicket thrashing to the team from Asian subcontinent. Afghanistan failed to put up an inspired show as it turned out to be a one-way traffic, with Zimbabwe sailing past their opponents’ paltry score of 122 in the first ODI with only two wickets down. Wellington Masakadza claimed four wickets while Luke Jongwe and Tendai Chisoro claimed three each. Chamu Chibhabha scored a fluent 58 to help his side register a big win.
Afghanistan bounced back really well after that thrashing as they managed to draw level with Zimbabwe at the same venue. Batting first, Afghanistan posted a strong total of 271 for 6 in their allotted 50 overs, and then bowled out Zimbabwe for 213 in 46.4 overs to register a 58-run win.
Squads:
Zimbabwe: Elton Chigumbura (c), Brian Chari, Chamu Chibhabha, Tendai Chisoro, Craig Ervine, Luke Jongwe, Neville Madziva, Wellington Masakadza, Tinotenda Mutombodzi, Richmond Mutumbami (wk), Taurai Muzarabani, John Nyumbu, Tinashe Panyangara, Sikandar Raza, Sean Williams.
Afghanistan: Asghar Stanikzai (c), Aftab Alam, Amir Hamza, Dawlat Zadran, Fareed Ahmad, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Mirwais Ashraf, Mohammad Nabi, Mohammad Shahzad (wk), Najibullah Zadran, Nawroz Mangal, Noor Ali Zadran, Samiullah Shenwari, Shafiqullah, Shapoor Zadran.