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Following his side's massive defeat against Afghanistan in the second ODI, Zimbabwe skipper Craig Ervine said that they have to back to the drawing board to rectify their mistake.
Sediqullah Atal's blitzkrieg century and top bowling performance from AM Ghazanfar and Naveed Zadran helped Afghanistan clinch a massive 232 runs over Zimbabwe in the second match of the ODI series at the Harare Sports Club on Thursday. Speaking at the post-match presentation, Ervine hailed the Afghan bowlers and said that they were very skilful in the match. The skipper also praised Newman Nyamhuri and said that he was impressive on Thursday. "I thought the pitch played a bit better than the previous game. We just wanted to set a platform. [Problem] We have to back to the drawing board. Afghanistan bowlers were very skilful. But we didn't show ourselves to be 50 all out. [On Newman Nyamhuri] He was very impressive. He is a bright kid for the future. Hopefully, he can continue to do well. [Maposa's injury] He has done his quad. I am not sure how bad it is. Think he will be out for the next game. Wish him a speedy recovery," Ervine was quoted by ESPNcricinfo as saying. Recapping the match, Zimbabwe won the toss and decided to bowl first against Afghanistan in Harare. Openers Sediqullah Atal (104 runs from 128 balls, 8 fours and 4 sixes) and Abdul Malik (84 runs from 101 balls, 11 fours and 1 six) gave a fiery start to Afghanistan after they cemented a 191-run partnership. Following the dismissal of the Afghan openers, skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi (29* runs from 30 balls, 4 fours) and Mohammad Nabi (18 runs from 16 balls, 1 six) added a few crucial runs on the board and propelled the visitors to 286/6 in the first inning. Zimbabwe displayed a sloppy performance with the ball in the first inning as they failed to take quick breakthroughs. Newman Nyamhuri led the Zimbabwe bowling attack as he picked up three wickets in his 10-over spell. During the run chase, Zimbabwe batters didn't get the chance to settle as the Afghan bowlers managed to get early wickets in the second inning. Sean Williams (16 runs from 18 balls, 2 fours) and Sikandar Raza (19* runs from 32 balls, 3 fours) were the only top run-getters for the hosts. AM Ghazanfar and Naveed Zadran led the Afghanistan bowling attack with their three-wicket hauls in their respective spells and restricted Zimbabwe to 54 with 32 overs remaining and clinched a 232-run win. Fazalhaq Farooqi picked up two wickets in his six-over spell. After the first match of the series ended in no result due to incessant rain, Afghanistan took a 1-0 lead in the series on Thursday. (ANI)
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