A lower-order counterattack gave Afghanistan enough to beat Zimbabwe by 37 runs in the first T20I at Sharjah Cricket Stadium. They were bowled out for 177 before dismissing Zimbabwe for 140.
Ahmadzai and Rashid transform Afghanistan's innings
Zimbabwe chose to bowl and quickly exposed Afghanistan's middle order. Brad Evans removed Ibrahim Zadran for 5 before Ernest Masuku dismissed Sediqullah Atal and Mohammad Akram Zazai in the third over. At 18/3, Afghanistan needed a substantial repair before they could consider an attacking finish.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Shahidullah Kamal began that work, but Wellington Masakadza dismissed Gurbaz for 18 from 21 balls, leaving 45/4 in the ninth over. Sikandar Raza then caught Azmatullah Omarzai off his own bowling to leave Afghanistan 66/5 in the 12th.
Kamal's 46 from 42 balls gave the innings continuity, while Ijaz Ahmad Ahmadzai's 52 from 22 balls changed its tempo. Ahmadzai struck four fours and four sixes, providing the acceleration Afghanistan had lacked. Their sixth-wicket partnership of 57 ended when Newman Nyamhuri had Kamal caught by Ryan Burl at 123/6.
There was no corresponding slowdown. Rashid Khan struck 30 from 10 balls, including four sixes, and shared 33 with Ahmadzai. Evans broke that stand on the first ball of the 19th over, with Burl again taking the catch, but Afghanistan's lower order had already transformed the innings.
Nyamhuri prevented a longer finish by removing Rashid, Noor Ahmad and Mujeeb Ur Rahman in the final over. His 4/31 brought the innings to a close after 19.5 overs, although Zimbabwe had been unable to preserve the advantage created by their early wickets.
Zimbabwe's middle order cannot sustain the chase
Fazalhaq Farooqi made the first breakthrough, having Ben Curran caught by Omarzai for 7 at 12/1. Brian Bennett and Innocent Kaia added 36, but Rashid bowled Kaia for 24 from 26 balls at the end of the eighth over. Mujeeb then removed Bennett for 13, leaving Zimbabwe 56/3.
Burl and Raza offered a more substantial response with a fourth-wicket stand of 38. That recovery ended when Raza, on 17, was caught by Omarzai off Mujeeb in the 14th over. Zimbabwe were 94/4, with their most productive partnership broken.
Rashid trapped Tadiwanashe Marumani lbw at 107/5 before Farooqi dismissed Burl for 32 from 24 balls. Shahidullah took the catch, and Zimbabwe slipped to 111/6. Wesley Madhevere's 17 from eight balls supplied a brief counterattack, but Shahidullah ended it with the score at 127/7.
Omarzai then removed Evans lbw and bowled Masuku on consecutive deliveries at 18.2 and 18.3, leaving 132/9. Farooqi completed the win by having Nyamhuri caught by Rashid after 19.1 overs, finishing with 3/13. Rashid's 2/20 and Mujeeb's 2/27 had helped prevent Zimbabwe from building a sustained challenge.
The result gave Afghanistan a 1–0 lead in the three-match series on the Zimbabwe tour of Afghanistan 2026, with two matches remaining.