Zimbabwe vs Afghanistan Match Preview, 3rd ODI

Zimbabwe and Afghanistan. (Photo Source: ZIM/ACB/Twitter)

The Chevrons aka Zimbabwe (ZIM) and Afghanistan (AFG) are all set to continue their ongoing ODI series. Both sides will lock horns in the third ODI at the Harare Sports Club in Harare, on Saturday, December 21. It is worth noting that the first ODI of the series was abandoned after a few overs due to bad weather. 

However, both sides took on each other in the second ODI, and a result came out of the game as well. The second ODI of the series saw Afghanistan put in an excellent performance. Batting first, Afghanistan managed to post a total of 286 runs in the first innings of the game. Sediqullah Atal opened the innings and scored 104 runs in 128 deliveries, with Abdul Malik adding 84 runs on the board as well. 

As for Zimbabwe, aiming to chase down the mammoth target, the side was bundled out for a score of 54 runs as Afghanistan won the second ODI of the series by 232 runs. With the third ODI approaching, Afghanistan will look to clinch the series, where Zimbabwe will hope to improve. 

Match Details

Pitch Report

The surface at the Harare Sports Club is one that is preferred by the batters. A high-scoring encounter could be quite the possibility on such a pitch and opting to bat first after winning the toss could be a wise decision. 

Head-to-Head Record

Probable Playing XIs

Zimbabwe:

Predicted XI: Ben Curran, Tadiwanashe Marumani (wk), Brian Bennett, Dion Myers, Craig Ervine (c), Sean Williams, Sikandar Raza, Blessing Muzarabani, Richard Ngarava, Trevor Gwandu.

Afghanistan:

Predicted XI: Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Sediqullah Atal, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Azmatullah Omarzai, Gulbadin Naib, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Nangeyalia Kharote, AM Ghazanfar.