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Zimbabwe
Afghanistan
The 2nd Test between Zimbabwe and Afghanistan will begin on 2nd January at the Queens Sports Club. The first fixture between the two teams ended up as a draw where the batting unit of both teams played a crucial role.
Zimbabwe won the toss in the 1st Test and elected to bat first. Their batters were fabulous and gave a major advantage to the team by scoring a big number. It will be interesting to see how Sean Williams, skipper Craig Ervine, and Brian Bennet manage to continue their scoring momentum in the 2nd Test as well.
Afghanistan bowling unit started with a below-average performance against Zimbabwe. Their bowling unit failed to scalp wickets and on top of it failed to stop the opposition from scoring runs. However, their batting unit was much more efficient and made records while facing the Zimbabwe bowling unit.
Rahmat Shah is the leading scorer for Afghanistan in 2024 in red-ball format with 388 runs at an average of 77.60 and a strike rate of 55.90.
The betting tip is...
Rahmat Shah will be the top scorer in the match.
61 %
39 %
ZimbabweAfghanistanThe hosts elected to bat first and did a fine job since the start of the game. In the first inning, Ben Curran was the top scorer in the top order with 68 off 74 balls at a strike rate of 91.89. Sean Williams was the leading scorer overall with 154 off 174 balls at a strike rate of 88.51.
Skipper Craig Ervine played a crucial role in the middle order by scoring 104 off 176 balls at a strike rate of 59.09. Brian Bennett also came out on top and scored 110 off 124 balls at a strike rate of 88.71. Brian Bennett also came out on top with the bowl and scalped 5 wickets at an economy of 3.39. Sean Williams also picked up 2 wickets at an economy of 3.22. Blessing Muzurbani, Trevor Gwandu, and Newman Nyamhuri scalped a single wicket each.
On the fourth day, the fixture was interrupted by the rain. It impacted the rhythm of the game. That also played a role in ending the game as a draw. However, after 40 minutes of break, the match began again and the bowling unit of the host came out as a weaker section. It was on the 5th day, Zimbabwe batters managed to end the match in a draw and not allow the opposition to score a win.
Craig Ervine, Brian Bennett, and Blessing Muzarabani are the key players in the team.
Predicted Lineup: Dion Myers, Ben Curran, Craig Ervine, Brian Bennett, Sean Williams, Takudzwanashe Kaitano, Joylord Gumbie, Newman Nyamhuri, Blessing Muzarabani, Trevor Gwandu, Brandon Mavuta
Afghanistan struggled with their bowling unit. They failed to stop the opposition from scoring runs and scalping timely breakthroughs. Allah Ghazanfar picked up 3 wickets at an economy of 4.19. Naveed Zadran, Zahir Khan, and Zia-ur-Rehman picked up 2 wickets each at an economy of 4.74, 4.54, and 3.88 respectively.
On the batting front, Afghanistan made multiple records but their achievement of the eighth-highest third-wicket partnership in Menβs Tests was the highlight. Rahmat Shah scored 234 off 424 balls at a strike rate of 55.19. Skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi came out as the top scorer and scored his 2nd double Test century by scoring 246 off 474 balls at a strike rate of 51.90. Afsar Zazai also contributed by scoring 113 off 169 runs at a strike rate of 66.86.
During the 2nd inning, Zahir Khan scalped 2 wickets at an economy of 4.30 and Allah Ghazanfar contributed with a single wicket.
Hashmatullah Shahidi, Azmatullah Omarzai, and Rahmat Shah are the key players for the team.
Predicted Lineup: Hashmatullah Shahidi, Abdul Malik, Afsar Zazai, Sediqullah Atal, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rahmat Shah, Zia ur Rehman, Naveed Zadran, Zahir Khan, Allah Ghazanfar, Shahidullah Kamal
Both teams came out on top with their batting unit in the 1st Test and we expect the same amount of thrill in the 2nd Test between the two teams.
However, Afghanistan carries an extra edge with their experienced batters who have scored bigger numbers in the match. Their bowlers can stun the opposition and that will play an important role for the team. We predict a win for Afghanistan in the 2nd Test.
