HoldingWilley The second best way to enjoy cricket
Zimbabwe tour of United Arab Emirates 2015-16

Scorecard - 1st T20I, Afghanistan vs Zimbabwe at Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates (08 Jan 2016)

Afghanistan

187/7 (20) RR:9.35

Afghanistan won by 5 runs

MOM: Gulbadin Naib
Zimbabwe

182/7 (20) RR:9.1

Due to some technical problems, we are unable to cover live matches on our site and app. We are working on it and will be back soon. Please stay tuned for more.

19.3 - Donald Tiripano to Rashid Khan, FOUR, inside edge and four! Rashid Khan stays deep inside the crease to this slower length delivery. His big heave could only manage an inside edge which dribbles through short fine and into the fence

18.4 - Luke Jongwe to Naib, FOUR, half-volley outside off and Naib nails the loft to perfection. Stays deep inside the crease and hits it as straight as he can, couple of bounces and into the long-off fence

17.0 - Luke Jongwe to Nabi, FOUR, touch short and wide, that's enough for Nabi to free his arms. Jumps on his toes and flays the cut over cover for a thumping boundary towards deep extra cover

15.1 - Tendai Chisoro to Naib, FOUR, pitched a tad short and Naib pounces on it. Jumps back and whacks it off the middle of the bat over mid-wicket, one bounce and over the ropes. No point chasing that lads!

12.3 - S Raza to Sadiq, FOUR, Sadiq in the action again. Stoops low to this floaty delivery, clears his front leg and smacks it over mid-on for a one bounce four

11.4 - Cremer to Sadiq, FOUR, picture-perfect! Well-executed inside-out drive. Made room and got enough power behind the shot, short cover got fingertips but it was a difficult one though. It went flying towards the fence

10.4 - S Raza to Usman Ghani, FOUR, shot! Kneels down to this flighted delivery and times the slog-sweep to perfecrion, threading the gap between deep mid-wicket and long-on

9.2 - Chibhabha to Usman Ghani, FOUR, back of a length and on the hips of Ghani, he tucks it to the left of short fine leg, this one races to the fence

5.4 - Chibhabha to Usman Ghani, FOUR, short and wide outside off, Ghani cuts it hard and gets it past backward point with ease, races to the fence in a jiffy

5.1 - Chibhabha to Usman Ghani, FOUR, short delivery and the batsman is too early on the pull, hits the back of the bat and rolls away to the third man fence, lucky four for Ghani

4.1 - Luke Jongwe to Usman Ghani, FOUR, fuller length and on off, Ghani makes room and lofts it over mid-off, one bounce and over the ropes, that one looked easy

2.2 - Donald Tiripano to Mohammad Shahzad, FOUR, length delivery on middle and leg, Shahzad moves across and whips it hard, gets it off the inside half of the bat but it still races away to the deep backward square leg fence

0.3 - Donald Tiripano to Mohammad Shahzad, FOUR, that effort from the fielder at deep mid-wicket almost got Tiripano his first T20I wicket, it was fuller length delivery on middle and leg, Shahzad just swung across the line and got it to deep mid-wicket, the fielder there put a diving effort to his right, got both hands to it but failed to cling on

19.5 - Donald Tiripano to Rashid Khan, SIX, see you tomorrow! Rashid Khan, you little beauty! What power behind the shot! He hangs back and dispatches this slower length delivery nonchalantly, high and over deep mid-wicket with a well-timed pull stroke

19.0 - Luke Jongwe to Naib, SIX, crikey! What was that? Can we name this Naib-slice! Well that's some innovative stroke I can tell you. It could have been a wide had Naib left that. He walked a long way across to his right and sliced the flashy drive over the third man fence

17.4 - Tendai Chisoro to Nabi, SIX, two in two for Nabi and he brings up the 50-run stand as well. Chisoro bowls it short and wide, Nabi makes room slightly and carves the inside-out loft over deep extra cover

17.3 - Tendai Chisoro to Nabi, SIX, full toss and Nabi ain't missing out on this one. Goes deep inside the crease and slams it off the middle of the bat, for a maximum over wide long-off

16.1 - Luke Jongwe to Naib, SIX, poor stuff from Jongwe. Serves up length outside off. Naib stays solid at the crease and smokes it straight down the ground, stand and admire stuff!

15.0 - S Raza to Nabi, SIX, ah, shot! Superb stuff this from Nabi. Raza keeps it full and straight, Nabi gets into nice position. Stays firm at the crease and swings hard, goes high and sailing over the long-on fence

14.3 - S Raza to Naib, SIX, smashed! Easy as you like. Naib gets down on one knee and takes full toll of this flighted delivery. Pinged from the middle and the loft travelled all the way for a maximum, over the long-off fence

8.2 - Cremer to Stanikzai, SIX, he is so excited to hit that six that he takes off the helmet, came down town the track and it was a quicker one, managed to get underneath it and it sails over long-on

4.3 - Luke Jongwe to Mohammad Shahzad, SIX, Shahzad is on a mission today, the mission to tear apart the leather, makes room and Shahzad follows him with a fuller length delivery, Shahzad swings across the line and it sails over the deep mid-wicket fence

4.0 - Tendai Chisoro to Mohammad Shahzad, SIX, and once again the little man has hit it out of the ground, makes room and Chisoro follows him with a quicker one, he still swings across the line, gets it of the middle of the bat and it sails over the deep mid-wicket fence, what did he have for evening snacks today? Surely, it's working for him

3.4 - Tendai Chisoro to Usman Ghani, SIX, that is a big, big hit from Ghani, the ball was darted into him and he cleared his front leg to slog it over mid-wicket

1.1 - Tendai Chisoro to Mohammad Shahzad, SIX, tossed up and Shahzad has launched it out of the park, went down on his knee and slogged it hard, made a good connection and the next thing we saw was the ball bouncing on the roof of the stadium, mammoth hit from the Afghani opener

19.1 - Donald Tiripano to Mirwais, out Naib Run Out!! Needless but Naib was so desperate to get back to strike. This was a slower delivery from Tiripano. Mirwais Ashraf fails to make any connection with the swing. Naib though calls him through for a single. Mutumbami fires a deadly-accurate throw back on the stumps meaning Naib was caught short by a long way. At the striker's end obviously. Naib run out (Mutumbami) 37(20) [4s-2 6s-3]

18.2 - Luke Jongwe to Najibullah, out Bowled!! Chopped on! Slower delivery from Jongwe. Zadran leans on the back foot and tries to pull this short and wide delivery. Gets a big inside edge which clatters back onto the stumps. Najibullah b Luke Jongwe 1(2)

17.5 - Tendai Chisoro to Nabi, out Caught by S Raza!! One too many strkes from Nabi. Nonetheless, he played a very good hand here. Tries to biff this full toss over long-on. Got it high on the bat and long-on takes a tumbling catch after coming forward. Good effort from Raza there. Nabi c S Raza b Tendai Chisoro 26(11) [4s-1 6s-3]

13.2 - Cremer to Sadiq, out Caught by Chibhabha!! Sadiq gone too! He was trying to slog-sweep this delivery into the deep mid-wicket stands. Crouches low and hits hard, got enough power but couldn't get the desired distance. Chibhabha comes forward, dives full length and clasps it inches above the ground. Sadiq c Chibhabha b Cremer 16(17) [4s-2]

12.5 - S Raza to Usman Ghani, out Caught by Peter Moor!! Good catch by Moor at long-off. Timed the jump to perfection. Usman Ghani's entertaining knock comes to an end. Raza slows this one outside off, Ghani tries to loft it over long-off. Could only get it off the toe-end, long-off moves to his right and takes it above his head. Usman Ghani c Peter Moor b S Raza 42(38) [4s-5 6s-1]

8.3 - Cremer to Stanikzai, out Caught by S Raza!! One shot to many for Stanikzai, tried a similar shot this time, the ball was slightly slower than the previous one and the bat swung early, it sailed high towards deep mid-wicket, where Raza moved to his left and pouched it, tumbles after taking the catch. Stanikzai c S Raza b Cremer 8(8) [6s-1]

6.3 - Cremer to Mohammad Shahzad, out Bowled!! Cremer has cleaned him up, when they come off, they look good, when not - ugly, it was a quicker delivery and on the stumps, Shahzad looked to slog it hard after backing away, the ball kept a bit low and eluded his wielding willow to crash into the middle stump. The dangerman departs. Mohammad Shahzad b Cremer 33(17) [4s-2 6s-3]

4.4 - Luke Jongwe to Mohammad Shahzad, 1 run, the partnership between Mohammad Shahzad and Usman Ghani is now 50 runs, that one came in no time, slightly short and Shahzad mistimes the pull off the front foot to mid-wicket

1.3 - Tendai Chisoro to Usman Ghani, no run, what has happened here? Darted in on middle and off, Usman Ghani taps it to backward point and set off, Shahzad was not ready for it and did not oblige the call, the fielder there did not throw it back to the keeper and ran with it towards the stumps at the striker's end, but by the time he broke the stumps, the batsman had made his ground. Don't know what Masakadza was thinking there, he had so much time on his hand to throw it towards the keeper, but he just didn't. Cost his team the wicket, one that the Afghans gifted them on a plate, but he made a complete mess of it

19.4 - Dawlat Zadran to Luke Jongwe, FOUR, this will do! The Zimbabweans inch closer. Full outside off, Jongwe slices the drive over backward point, races away to the fence

15.3 - Amir Hamza to M Waller, FOUR, even better this time! Short and wide outside off once again, got the punishment it deserved. Waller cracks it hard and gets it in the gap between backward point and short third man, no need to run for those as he had absolutely powered it right off the middle

13.3 - Nabi to S Raza, FOUR, advances to get to the pitch of this flighted delivery and drills the drive wide of extra cover, that came off the middle of the bat and beats the fielder at long-off, who was running to his left to try and cut it off

10.5 - Naib to H Masakadza, FOUR, third boundary of the over now! The crowd goes silent once again. Slightly short and around off, Masakadza latches onto it in a flash, pulls it to the left of deep mid-wicket, who runs across to his left, puts in the dive but fails to stop it

10.4 - Naib to H Masakadza, FOUR, take that! Pitched up and right in the slot, Masakadza presses forward and smashes the drive wide of long-off, who had no chance of cutting it off as it rocketed away to the fence

10.1 - Naib to M Waller, FOUR, slower delivery that's just short of a good length and on the stumps, Waller waits for the ball to arrive and splits backward point and short third man to perfection, cuts it right in that gap and it races away to the fence

5.3 - Amir Hamza to Mutumbami, FOUR, flatter delivery and on middle, Mutumbami lofts it over the bowler's head with ease, did not put much effort to get that boundary

2.2 - Dawlat Zadran to Chibhabha, FOUR, short delivery and Chibhabha has latched onto it, he is looking in good touch, it was tad short and below Chibhabha's eye level, he swivelled across and pulled it over mid-wicket, easy pickings for Chibhabha for sure

2.0 - Mirwais to Chibhabha, FOUR, back-to-back boundaries for Chibhabha, this one is even better than the previous one, fuller length and just outside off, Chibhabha goes for the inside-out lofted drive and gets it over the infield, it went crashing into the fence at deep extra cover

1.5 - Mirwais to Chibhabha, FOUR, gets a chance to free his arms outside off and cracks this fuller length delivery over extra cover, one bounce and over the ropes

1.3 - Mirwais to H Masakadza, FOUR, pick up shot from Masakadza, the ball was angled in from a length and Masakadza just whipped it over deep square leg, that will calm down the nerves

19.3 - Dawlat Zadran to Luke Jongwe, SIX, he has dispatched the free-hit out of the park. Another ball has been lost. Short delivery from Zadran, Jongwe pulls it hard and sends it miles over the deep mid-wicket fence

18.5 - Nabi to Chigumbura, SIX, brilliant shot. Chigumbura comes charging down the track, converts this into a full toss and smashes it way over the long-on fence for a maximum

18.3 - Nabi to M Waller, SIX, super strike from Waller. Can he do the unthinkable? This was bowled flatter by Nabi, Waller smacks it over the deep mid-wicket fence with a mighty swing. He came down the track to get to the pitch of the ball on this occasion. It's gone out of the park and we'll need a replacement

17.1 - Amir Hamza to S Raza, SIX, fantastic hit! 50 of the partnership comes up. A much-needed boundary for the Zimbabweans. Darted short and on the stumps, Raza hangs back and nails the pull way over the cow corner fence

15.0 - Rashid Khan to M Waller, SIX, hammered! Once again Rashid bowls the googly, but this time it was a rank long hop. Waller had all the time in the world to rock back and he muscles the pull way over the deep mid-wicket fence

9.2 - Rashid Khan to H Masakadza, SIX, tad short and punished, Masakadza went back and pulled it pretty straight over long-on

6.3 - Naib to H Masakadza, SIX, that is a great shot, sort of a lap shot, length delivery and on middle and leg, Masakadza swooped low on this one and lapped it over short fine leg. Timed it so well that the ball has gone out of the ground

4.4 - Sadiq to Mutumbami, SIX, touch of flight and outside off, Mutumbami muscles it over long-off, did not quite time it but had enough to get it over the ropes at long-off

4.2 - Sadiq to Mutumbami, SIX, first six of the innings, quicker delivery and on middle and leg, Mutumbami slogs over deep square leg with ease

20.0 - Dawlat Zadran to Luke Jongwe, out Caught by Naib!! Afghanistan hold their nerves to win the first T20I, win it by 5 runs. They take a 1-0 lead in the 2-match series. This was pitched up and right in the slot outside off, Jongwe goes hard on the lofted drive, looked like it came right off the middle but it didn't have enough distance on it. The fielder at deep extra cover takes a well-judged catch. Drama! Luke Jongwe c Naib b Dawlat Zadran 11(5) [4s-1 6s-1]

19.1 - Dawlat Zadran to Chigumbura, out Chigumbura Run Out!! 1 run completed. Another one bites the dust. Chigumbura found a way to get out off a free-hit, a run-out that is. It was bowled fuller outside off, Chigumbura goes for the big hit on the off-side, doesn't get the lofted drive off the middle of the bat and the sweeper takes the catch, the batsmen then decide to go for the second run but an accurate throw from the deep catches him miles short. Chigu dived across but it went in vain. Chigumbura run out (Naib/Mohammad Shahzad) 8(7) [6s-1]

17.5 - Amir Hamza to S Raza, out Stumped!! Body blow for Zimbabwe at this stage. Raza jumps out of the crease and tries to power this slog over deep mid-wicket, but couldn't connect with the straighter one that came in with the angle, the ball goes past the inside edge and the keeper does the rest. S Raza st Mohammad Shahzad b Amir Hamza 19(19) [4s-1 6s-1]

11.1 - Nabi to H Masakadza, out Bowled!! Some words being exchanged between the batsman and the Afghan players (Mohammad Shahzad mainly), Masakadza doesn't look happy at all and the umpire had to intervene to calm things down. This is a big wicket for the Blue Tigers, probably the biggest of the night so far. Masakadza premeditates the reverse sweep and Nabi holds this one back a little, the ball turns away and goes past the wielding blade of the batter to crash into the middle and leg. H Masakadza b Nabi 33(24) [4s-3 6s-2]

6.1 - Naib to Mutumbami, out Caught by Nabi!! The chase seems to be getting tougher and tougher for the Zimbabweans. Length delivery and on middle and off, Mutumbami comes down the track and lofts it high but not quite handsomely, the fielder at long-on moved a little to his right to snaffle that one. Mutumbami c Nabi b Naib 19(17) [4s-1 6s-2]

3.0 - Dawlat Zadran to Chibhabha, out Caught by Rashid Khan!! And that is the second wicket, maybe the pace of the delivery got the better of Chibhabha, umpires check for the no ball and it is fine. It was a pacy delivery and a tad short, more of a back of length, Chibhabha went back to pull it over mid-wicket. He was in no position as the ball hurried onto him and he got it high on the bat, the ball ballooned to Rashid Khan at mid-on, who took it with ease. Chibhabha c Rashid Khan b Dawlat Zadran 18(10) [4s-3]

0.3 - Dawlat Zadran to Peter Moor, out Caught by Najibullah!! What a start for Afghanistan, not a delivery which deserved a wicket but Zadran take it. Bowled it wide outside off and Moor sensing the opportunity slashed hard at it, could not keep it down and the fielder at backward point accepted the dolly gleefully. Not the start Zimbabwe needed, chasing such a big total. Peter Moor c Najibullah b Dawlat Zadran 2(3)

3.4 - Amir Hamza to Mutumbami, no run, dropped, darted on off and Mutumbami was looking to drive it on the up, gets an outside edge but the keeper failed to pouch it, lucky escape for Mutumbami. It was a difficult chance though