Noor Ahmad took 5 for 13 in 3.3 overs on 1 November 2026. Zimbabwe were bowled out for 79 in 14.3 overs. Afghanistan chased the target of 80 in 8.1 overs at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium and won by seven wickets with 71 balls remaining, which gave them the T20I series 3-0.
Zimbabwe fall apart after 56 for 4
Afghanistan won the toss and fielded. Zimbabwe had lost Brian Bennett (2) and Innocent Kaia (5) by the second over and Sikandar Raza (2 off 8 balls) at 13 for 3. Ryan Burl hit 30 from 29 balls and Wessly Madhevere 10 from 17. The score crept to 56 for 4 in the tenth over, then three wickets fell for four runs. The last wicket fell at 79. Noor Ahmad’s five came alongside Abdullah Tarakhail’s 2 for 14 in three overs, and Rashid Khan went wicketless but gave away only 7 runs in two overs.
A chase over before the ninth over
Afghanistan lost Mohammad Akram at 15 for 1, his 14 having come from 5 balls. Sediqullah Atal added 20 off 14. Noor ul Rahman was out for a duck at 44 for 3 in the fifth over. Ibrahim Zadran finished on 25 not out from 17 balls and Azmatullah Omarzai on 18 not out from 12. Ernest Masuku took 2 for 21 for Zimbabwe.
The win came nine days after Afghanistan beat Zimbabwe by 7 wickets in the final of the ODI tri-series, a three-team one-day competition, at the same ground.
How the three matches went
Omarzai was named player of the series after scoring 116 off 50 balls in the second match, where Raza answered with 106 off 56 and Zimbabwe finished 19 runs short on 202 for 5. Khan had been player of the match in the opener, hitting 30 off 10 balls in a 37-run win. Newman Nyamhuri took 4 for 31 that day, the best figures by a Zimbabwe bowler in the series.
| Match | Date | Result | Player of the match |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st T20I | 27 October | Afghanistan 177, Zimbabwe 140 (19.1 overs), Afghanistan won by 37 runs | Rashid Khan |
| 2nd T20I | 29 October | Afghanistan 221/7, Zimbabwe 202/5, Afghanistan won by 19 runs | Azmatullah Omarzai |
| 3rd T20I | 1 November | Zimbabwe 79, Afghanistan 81/3 (8.1 overs), Afghanistan won by 7 wickets | Noor Ahmad |
Scorecards and match data from ESPNcricinfo.
