Must-win game for Zimbabwe as they take on confident Afghanistan

Overview:

Afghanistan vs Zimbabwe, 2nd T20I
Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi, UAE
19 March 2021; 14:00 local

Even in the absence of their key players Gulbadin Naib and Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Afghanistan cruised to a comprehensive victory in the first T20I. They look like a well balanced unit and their confident approach reflected in the way they played the opening game.

Zimbabwe, on the other hand, have quite a few issues to sort out. For starters, their batting line-up is dependent on veterans Sean Williams and Sikandar Raza and have not had much exposure. Their bowling suffered in the first match as they were unable to contain Afghanistan's onslaught.

With the series on line, Zimbabwe will need that win to keep their chances alive.

Remember the last time:

Opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz showed his intent from the get-go smashing a quick-fire 45-ball 87 to drive Afghanistan to a comfortable 48-run win over Zimbabwe in the first T20I. Asghar Afghan also earned a half-century for Afghanistan putting them in the driving seat with a total of 198/5.

Zimbabwe started off their chase with great purpose as they managed to rack up 106 runs after 12 overs. However, the Afghanistan bowlers stuck to their plan and kept picking up wickets at regular intervals. Rashid Khan picked up a three-for as Zimbabwe ended with 150/7 in their 20 overs.

What they said:

Sean Williams (Zimbabwe captain): "It was a good wicket to bat on and we haven't had much training leading up to this T20 series and hopefully we will do much better in the next game. The execution was poor and in this shortest format of the game, it's costly."

Asghar Afghan (Afghanistan captain): "The first game of the series is very important. If you win, the morale is high. Today Rahmanullah and Janat’s partnership was good and later on, I saw the ball and played my shots. In T20 cricket, our bowlers have lot of experience as they play lots of league and today also they showed it."