Led by Rashid Khan’s all-round performance (10-ball 30 & 2-20), and Ijaz Ahmad Ahmadzai’s breezy half-century, Afghanistan secured a 37-run win over Zimbabwe in the first T20I, at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, on Tuesday.

Put in to bat, Afghanistan were pushed on the backfoot early. Ibrahim Zadran, Sediqullah Atal and Mohammad Akram departed cheaply, while Rahmanullah Gurbaz struggled to get going. Reduced to 18 for 3 in three overs, they scrapped their way to 68 for 5 in the 12th over before the tables turned.

It started with Shahidullah Kamal slapping Ernest Masuku for a six over extra cover in the 13th over. But the big assault followed in the next over, when Ahmadzai took apart Sikandar Raza for a six and two boundaries off successive deliveries. The assault continued, with Wellington Masakadza facing a similar brunt.

Even as Kamal departed in his effort to sustain the attack, Afghanistan only shifted a gear higher, with Rashid Khan joining Ahmadzai in the assault. 50 runs were added in the 17 balls since Rashid arrived in the middle, before Zimbabwe seized some momentum back in the final over to bundle out the hosts for 177.

In response, Zimbabwe too struggled to find early momentum in their innings. Ben Curran fell for 7, while Innocent Kaia and Brian Bennett struggled to find any rhythm through the course of their 36-run partnership. Moreover, any scope of them pushing the accelerator was nipped in the bud, with Mujeeb ur rahman and Rashid Khan dismissing both the set batters in quick succession.

Ryan Burl hit a couple of lusty blows, Sikandar Raza and Wessley Madhevere added quick 17s, but Zimbabwe failed to mount a serious charge towards the target from thereon. As the asking rate mounted, all the bowlers - barring Noor Ahmad - added to their list of wickets. Azmatullah Omarzai cleaned up Masuku in the 20th over to end Zimbabwe’s innings on 140.

Brief scores: Afghanistan 177 in 19.5 overs (Ijaz Ahmad Ahmadzai 52, Shahiullah Kamal 46; Newman Nyamhuri 4-31, Brad Evans 2-34) beat Zimbabwe 140 in 19.1 overs (Ryan Burl 32; Fazalhaq Farooqi 3-13, Rashid Khan 2-20) by 37 runs