World Cup Super League: Afghanistan move ahead of Team India to 3rd after ODI series win vs Zimbabwe, check standings HERE

Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmat Shah raised a record 195-run partnership for the second wicket to help Afghanistan to a comprehensive eight-wicket win against host Zimbabwe in the second ODI in Harare on Monday (June 6). After restricting Zimbabwe to 228 all out in 50 overs, Afghanistan rode on the record second-wicket partnership between Zadran, who struck his maiden ODI century on way to 120 not out, and Shah (88) to reach 229/2 in 44.3 overs.

The win gave Afghanistan an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series and also helped them consolidate their position in the top half of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League (CWCSL) table. With 10 more CWCSL points, Afghanistan moved up to 90 points. While they are still at No.3 on the table, they are just five points behind the No.2 England. A clean sweep in the series will see them leapfrog England to the second position and just 20 points behind first-ranked Bangladesh.

With 10 losses in 14 games now, Zimbabwe continue languishing at the 13th spot, just above the Netherlands. Team India are currently are currently in 5th position with 79 points from 12 matches with 8 wins and 4 losses.

Each team earns 10 points for a win, five for a tie/ no result/ abandoned match, and zero for a loss. The top eight teams will get a direct entry to the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023. The remaining teams will have to play in the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier along with five associate teams. Two teams from the qualifying tournament will then progress to the World Cup. Team India automatically qualify on the account of being the tournament hosts.

Check World Cup Super League Points Table here…

Afghanistan on the move after victory over Zimbabwe

How they claimed the 10 points in the second #ZIMvAFG ODI https://t.co/Y6wq1fNvDE pic.twitter.com/toeNWGwPGG — ICC (@ICC) June 7, 2022

Things did not start well for them in the second ODI on Tuesday. At 4/1 after the first over, Zimbabwe needed to regroup early and make the most of Afghanistan’s decision of sending them in to bat first. Opener Innocent Kaia took it upon himself to stabilise the hosts` innings. Kaia and Craig Ervine batted cautiously and added 43 runs for the second wicket but with Ervine gone at the beginning of the 13th over and Wesley Madhevere perishing soon, the job of rebuilding fell back on Kaia again.

Together with Sikandar Raza he stitched a solid 67-run stand and scored a 74-ball 63 to lay the foundation of a decent total. Left-arm pacer Fareed Ahmad was instrumental in Afghanistan restricting Zimbabwe to just 228. Ahmad first broke the Ervine-Kaia stand, trapping the Zimbabwe skipper for 32 and reviewing successfully.

Chasing a target of 229, Afghanistan lost Rahmanullah Gurbaz in the third over. But that wicket was just one tiny hiccup in their otherwise smooth batting performance. Rahmat Shah smashed a 116-ball 88 and fell when Afghanistan needed just 17 runs to win. They eventually got there in the 45th over.

Brief scores: Zimbabwe 228 in 50 0vers (Innocent Kaia 63, Ryan Burl 51 n.o., Sikandar Raza 40; Fareed Ahmad 3/56, Mohammad Nabi 2/31, Rashid Khan 2/56) lost to Afghanistan 229/2 in 44.3 overs (Ibrahim Zadran 120 n.o., Rahmat Shah 88)

(with IANS inputs)