Nabi seals nervy win to clinch series for Afghanistan

Nabi seals nervy win to clinch series for Afghanistan

Veteran Mohammad Nabi stepped up in the final over to seal a nervy win for Afghanistan, securing a come-from-behind T20I series victory. Chasing 128, Afghanistan appeared to be heading for a comfortable victory at one point before a late collapse gave Zimbabwe a sniff. However, Nabi took on the responsibility in the final over with his side still needing 7 to win as he got the job done with three balls to spare.

Afghanistan's Azmatullah Omarzai and Gulbadin Naib squashed hopes of a Zimbabwe comeback with a vital 48-run stand that put the game on the platter. Zimbabwe staged a late comeback on the back of Sikandar Raza's excellent spell that saw him remove both set batters. Nabi then released the pressure with a much-needed boundary in the penultimate over.

Rashid Khan led another disciplined effort from the Afghanistan bowlers, picking up 4/27. Despite not picking a wicket in his first two overs, Rashid came back to trap Farid Khan lbw before stunning the home side with a three-wicket over to round off an excellent spell.

Brief scores:

• Zimbabwe: 127 in 19.5 overs (Brian Bennett 31; Rashid Khan 4/27) lost to Afghanistan: 128/7 in 19.3 overs (Azmatullah Omarzai 34, Mohammad Nabi 24*) by 3 wickets