Afghanistan v Zimbabwe in UAE, 2021 Match Prediction
Match: AFG vs ZIM Fantasy Team Prediction
Time: 17 March, 03:30 PM (IST)
Series:: Afghanistan v Zimbabwe in UAE, 2021
Venue: Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi.
Head to Head Stats
Matches Played 09
AFG Won 08
ZIM Won 01
No Result 00ZIM Won 01
Tie 00
Recent Form:
AFG: L W W L LZIM: L L L L L
AFG: L W W L L
ZIM: L L L L L
Info:
- There was very little to choose between the sides in the Test series but we expect a far more one-sided affair in the T20I games with Afghanistan coming out on top. Zimbabwe is currently ranked in 12th place with Afghanistan level alongside West Indies in 8th and only marginally behind Bangladesh in 7th.
- In Rashid Khan, Afghanistan have the world’s number 1 ranked bowler in the T20I format so it will be interesting to see how Zimbabwe approaches his bowling and that of his Afghan teammates. Not that they are a one-man team, they also have the world’s number 1 ranked all-rounder in Mohammad Nabi!
- For Zimbabwe, once again the burden of responsibility will fall upon captain Sean Williams who hit a century in both Tests.
- Five players, including Gulbadin Naib and Mujeeb Ur Rahman, are doubtful for the series opener due to visa issues. It remains to be seen if the problem is resolved on time.
- Zimbabwe have added Faraz Akram, Milton Shumba and Tinashe Kamunhukamwe to the 15-man list that featured in the Test to make-up their T20I squad.
Live Streaming:
The match can be watched live on Free Sports UK in the UK Freeview Channel 64, Virgin Media Channel 553, Sky Channel 422, TalkTalk TV Channel 64, and BT TV Channel 64.
TV Channels:
Fans in India can stream the match on the FanCode app.
Toss Prediction
Asghar Afghan won both tosses in the Test series and chose to bat first each time. We expect Afghan or Williams to choose to field first if the coin flips in their favour.
Weather & Pitch Report:
⛅ Weather:
The temperature will be down from the earlier high of 31 but will still be near 28 when the game gets underway.
🏟️ Pitch:
This will be the first T20I at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi since the UAE beat Canada by 14 runs in October 2019. Ireland are the only team to have hit 200+ at the ground and we expect that record to remain.
Team NEWS:
AFGHANISTAN Team News:
There will be some familiar names in the Afghanistan team including many from the recent Test series. Look out for wicketkeeper-batsman Rahmanullah Gurbaz who has already played 10 T20Is and hit a century on his ODI debut earlier this year.
ZIMBABWE Team News:
In spite of losing the second Test and an inferior record in T20Is, Zimbabwe do have useful players who will be keen to show off their skills with and against the white ball. None more so than Wesley Madhevere who made his Test debut in the series with Afghanistan and returned numbers of zero runs, two golden ducks and a further duck across his three innings.
AFG
Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk),Usman Ghani,
Karim Janat,
Hashmatullah Shahidi,
Najib Zadran,
Asghar Afghan,
Mohammad Nabi,
Sharafuddin Ashraf,
Rashid Khan,
Hamza Hotak,
Naveen Ul-Haq.
ZIM
Prince Masvaure,
Kevin Kasuza,
Sean Williams (c),
Regis Chakabva (wk),
Sikandar Raza,
Wesley Madhevere,
Wellington Masakadza,
Ryan Burl,
Victor Nyauchi,
Blessing Muzarabani,
Donald Tripano.
Grand League Team Added in Team Guide Section.
Players H2H Battle:
Ryan Burl Against R Khan
22 balls 26 runs 03 out
Ryan Burl Against M Nabi
11 balls 09 runs 00 out
13 balls 19 runs 00 out
Regis Chakabva Against M Nabi
09 balls 13 runs 00 out
R Gurbaz against S Williams
18 balls 17 runs 02 out
18 balls 17 runs 02 out
M Nabi against R Burl
13 balls 21 runs 00 out
13 balls 21 runs 00 out
M Nabi against Blessing Muzarbani
17 balls 354 runs 00 out
17 balls 354 runs 00 out
AFG Key Players:
Asghar Afghan:
The captain made a century in the first innings of the final Test which set Afghanistan on their way to victory. He doesn’t have the best individual numbers in T20I cricket but will have good memories of the surroundings from last week.
Mohammad Nabi:
Leading the rankings in the format for all-rounders, Nabi has clocked up 78 T20Is taking 69 wickets with the highest score of 89. He is over 36 years of age, but as Chris Gayle has recently proved, that is just a number in T20I cricket.
Leading the rankings in the format for all-rounders, Nabi has clocked up 78 T20Is taking 69 wickets with the highest score of 89. He is over 36 years of age, but as Chris Gayle has recently proved, that is just a number in T20I cricket.
Rashid Khan:
The world’s number 1 T20I bowler will be relishing bowling 4 overs in the first game after sending down 99.2 overs across the second Test, a record for this century. His best figures of 5-3 came against Ireland in March 2017.
The world’s number 1 T20I bowler will be relishing bowling 4 overs in the first game after sending down 99.2 overs across the second Test, a record for this century. His best figures of 5-3 came against Ireland in March 2017.
ZIM Key Players:
Sean Williams:
Captain, Player of the Series and the only player to look at ease in both Tests, Williams comes into this series with his reputation enhanced in the long format and with a great platform to gain further attention.
Sikandar Raza:
The only other Zimbabwe player to bat with any consistency across the Test series. Raza has bags of experience and offers good skills with the bat and the ball with his off-breaks.
The only other Zimbabwe player to bat with any consistency across the Test series. Raza has bags of experience and offers good skills with the bat and the ball with his off-breaks.
Donald Tiripano:
Always considered as a bowler who could bat a little bit, Tiripano almost made three figures in international cricket for the first time before being dismissed for 95 on Sunday. He will be a reliable performer with bat and ball if given the opportunity.
Always considered as a bowler who could bat a little bit, Tiripano almost made three figures in international cricket for the first time before being dismissed for 95 on Sunday. He will be a reliable performer with bat and ball if given the opportunity.
Team Forms:
AFG Team Form:
Unbeaten in series since 2017 but that may not count for a great deal considering they haven’t played a T20I since March 2020.
ZIM Team Form:
The biggest obstacle for Zimbabwe has been lack of games over recent years, but not returning a win and being heavily beaten in recent T20I series against Bangladesh and Pakistan gave a realistic assessment of their current level.
SQUAD:
Afghanistan:
Zimbabwe:
Asghar Afghan (C), Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK), Afsar Zazai (WK), Usman Ghani, Ibrahim Zadran, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Najib Zadran, Karim Janat, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Amir Hamza Hotak, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Naveen ul Haq & Farid Malik.
Zimbabwe:
Prince Masvaure, Tinashe Kamunhukamwe, Wesley Madhevere, Sean Williams(c), Sikandar Raza, Ryan Burl, Milton Shumba, Regis Chakabva(w), Donald Tiripano, Wellington Masakadza, Blessing Muzarabani, Richmond Mutumbami, Kevin Kasuza, Tarisai Musakanda, Victor Nyauchi, Brandon Mavuta, Richard Ngarava, Faraz Akram.