Afghanistan bowls in rain-shortened 28-overs-per-side opening ODI

Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi won the toss and opted to field in the opening ODI against Zimbabwe, despite a delayed start. The toss was pushed back by nearly four hours due to persistent rain, reducing the match to a 28-overs-a-side contest.

Zimbabwe gave debuts to left-handed batter Ben Curran and left-arm seamer Newman Nyamhuri. Ben Curran, the 28-year-old middle brother of England internationals Sam and Tom Curran, has a notable cricketing background. He played for Northamptonshire until 2022 before joining the Zimbabwean domestic scene, where he had spent much of his childhood.

Afghanistan, on the other hand, was without Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who was ruled out of the ODI series due to a Grade 2B quadriceps injury and a bony hip flexor injury. Mohammad Ishaq replaced Gurbaz for the series. Additionally, Mujeeb Ur Rahman was rested after a careful evaluation of his recovery process.

Shahidi, speaking at the toss, expressed confidence in Afghanistan’s bowling attack, citing the conditions and the “spicy” wicket. He hoped his team could take full advantage of the first ten overs. “The weather condition is also suitable,” he noted, adding that the track had shown promise during the T20I.

Zimbabwe’s captain, Craig Ervine, also wanted to field, but he anticipated the surface would favor bowlers throughout the day. He called on his middle and lower order to step up, hoping they could set a competitive total if required.

The teams are as follows:

Zimbabwe: Ben Curran, Tadiwanashe Marumani (wk), Dion Myers, Craig Ervine (capt), Sean Williams, Brian Bennett, Blessing Muzarabani, Richard Ngarava, Sikandar Raza, Trevor Gwandu, Newman Nyamhuri

Afghanistan: Sediqullah Atal, Hashmatullah Shahidi (capt), Darwish Rasooli, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Ikram Alikhil (wk), Abdul Malik, Rashid Khan, AM Ghazanfar, Rahmat Shah, Fazalhaq Farooqi