AOPNEWS | January 10, 2016
Afghanistan defeated Zimbabwe today by 81 runs in the second and final match of a T20I series at Sharjah Cricket Stadium in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Zimbabwe won the coin toss and chose to field first. Afghanistan managed to score 215 runs (6 wickets; 20 overs). Mohammad Shahzad scored a whopping 118 runs (not out). A hundred runs is called a century in the sport of cricket. No other Afghan batter came close. Mohammad Nabi only managed to score 22 runs. Shahzad hit the 4th highest individual score in a T20I game. Aaron Finch is in first place with 156 followed by Brendon McCullum with 123. Faf Du Plessis is currently in third place with 119.
Mohammad Shahzad won both the Player of the Match and Player of the Series awards.
When their turn at bat came, outstanding Afghan bowling limited Zimbabwe to only 134 runs (all out 18.1 overs). The highest score came from Hamilton Masakadza who scored 63, followed by Peter Moor with 35.
The national cricket team will take some time off from major international matces till March when they go up against Scotland in an ICC World Twenty20 match.
Shahzad is the prince of Afghan cricket and the only Asian to be in the record books for scoring 118 runs, the fourth highest total in a Twenty20 match. Congratulations to Mohammad Shahzad and Afghanistan. Good luck in the Twenty20 World Cup.