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Mohammad Shahzad

A MINOR blip in the second one-day international aside, Afghanistan have been clinical in the five-match ODI series against Zimbabwe, their unassailable 3-1 scoreline a testament to that.

In the nine ODIs in Sharjah involving these two sides, Afghanistan have the wood over Zimbabwe with six wins. They will be keen on making it seven in the final game of the series today.

Zimbabwe have been better than the scores might suggest, but faltered woefully against Afghanistan’s spinners; for instance, in the third ODI, all 10 Zimbabwe wickets were picked up by the spin-trio of Mujeeb Zadran, Sharafuddin Ashraf and Rashid  Khan.

Zimbabwe went down 2-0 in the two-match Twenty20 International series, and with the ODI series now lost as well, it is a case of fine-tuning and getting the combination right before they travel back home to host the all-important ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifiers 2018.

Despite three of their players featuring in the top five of the run-getters list for the series, Zimbabwe have crossed the 180-mark just once in four games, clearly indicating that the batsman have not performed cohesively. The middle order has been found wanting against the spinners on more occasions than one, while the visitors have also not been helped by the fact that Solomon Mire and Hamilton Masakadza, the openers, have not been able to string a good partnership at the start.

The bowlers, led by captain Graeme Cremer, have been impressive, but haven’t always had the chance to showcase their skills with targets being less than ideal.

The likes of Brendan Taylor, Sikandar Raza and Craig Ervine will once again be expected to steady the ship, even as hopes heighten for Masakadza to regain form before the World Cup Qualifiers.

Afghanistan, meanwhile, have most bases covered. Their spinners have stood head and shoulders above the rest, consistently bamboozling the Zimbabwe batsman. While Rashid unsurprisingly heads the wickets column for the series with 13 grabs, Mujeeb, who in the last game became the youngest bowler in ODIs to pick a five-wicket haul eclipsing Waqar Younis’s record, is not far behind with 11.

Apart from the second ODI, when they were bowled out for 179 in a chase of 334, the Afghanistan batsmen have been impressive throughout. Rahmat Shah (223 runs) has been a vital cog in the batting line-up for the hosts while Mohammad Shahzad’s unbeaten 75 in Afghanistan’s ten-wicket win in the fourth ODI signalled a welcome return to form for the opener.

Key players
Mohammad Shahzad (Afghanistan): Shahzad’s belligerent knock in the fourth ODI, while chasing 135 for a win, is exactly the kind of innings that is expected of the charismatic wicketkeeper-batsman. The leading run-scorer for Afghanistan in ODIs, Shahzad has been instrumental in getting his side to explosive starts at the top, and he will hope for more of the same in the last game of the series as well.

Brendan Taylor (Zimbabwe): With Masakadza and Mire having not hit their straps yet, the onus will once again fall on the shoulders of Taylor to take his side to safety. Zimbabwe’s leading run-scorer for the series with 180 runs in four outings, Taylor has been the only one who has picked the Afghan spinners without much trouble. He will once again be expected to anchor the innings.

Conditions
A typical Sharjah sun, without a cloud in sight, is expected. The surface at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium has been batsmen-friendly throughout the series, and it should continue to do just that.

Squads
Afghanistan: Asghar Stanikzai (capt), Mohammad Shahzad (wk), Javed Ahmadi, Ihsanullah Janat, Rahmat Shah, Najibullah Zadran, Samiullah Shinwari, Nasir Jamal, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Zadran, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Dawlat Zadran, Shapoor Zadran.

Zimbabwe: Graeme Cremer (capt), Hamilton Masakadza, Solomon Mire, Craig Ervine, Brendan Taylor (wk), Sikandar Raza, Peter Moor, Malcolm Waller, Brian Vitori, Tendai Chisoro, Blessing Muzarabani, Ryan Burl, Tendai Chatara, Kyle Jarvis.
— ICC