The 1st ODI between Zimbabwe and Afghanistan was abandoned after rain hampered play at the Harare Sports Club, Harare on Tuesday, December 17. The hosts were reeling at 44/5 in 9.2 overs when the umpires called in for covers.
Earlier, the ZIM vs AFG 1st ODI had been reduced to a 28-over contest per side
The 1st ODI between Zimbabwe and Afghanistan was abandoned after rain hampered play at the Harare Sports Club, Harare on Tuesday, December 17. The hosts were reeling at 44/5 in 9.2 overs when the umpires called in for covers.
Earlier, the Afghan Atlans captain Hashmatullah Shahidi had won the toss and elected to bat in the 1st ODI. The match was taking place at the Harare Sports Club in the capital of Zimbabwe. (Streaming | More Cricket News)
Speaking at the toss, Shahidi said, "We want to bowl first. Weather conditions are also suitable and the wicket is also spicy so we want to take advantage of the first ten overs. I have spoken to the senior guys and they have given a lot of information regarding the conditions. Hopefully, we will do well here."
ZIM captain Craig Irvine asserted that they would have bowled first. He said, "We also would have bowled but having been put into bat, we will try to put up a decent score on the board. Our top-order in the T20s was good but the middle order has been letting us down. Hopefully, we can correct that through these three games. Ben Curran is making his debut today. Also, Newman Nyamhuri is making his debut."
Teams:
Afghanistan (Playing XI): Sediqullah Atal, Abdul Malik, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi(c), Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Ikram Alikhil(w), Rashid Khan, AM Ghazanfar, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Naveed Zadran
Zimbabwe (Playing XI): Tadiwanashe Marumani(w), Ben Curran, Dion Myers, Craig Ervine(c), Sean Williams, Sikandar Raza, Brian Bennett, Newman Nyamhuri, Richard Ngarava, Blessing Muzarabani, Trevor Gwandu
Ahead of the 1st ODI, the Afghanistan cricket board had announced on X (formerly Twitter) that their star batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz was ruled out of the ODI series.
"Gurbaz has been ruled out of the ODI series due to a grade 2B quadriceps injury along with a bony hip flexor injury. Mohammad Ishaq has been named as his replacement for the series," ACB wrote. Also, Mujeeb has been rested as he is still recovering from an injury.