Zimbabwe vs Afghanistan, Afghanistan in Zimbabwe 3 ODI Series 2024, 1st ODI - Full Scorecard

This now becomes a two game series then! The second game will be played on the 19th of this month. Join us at 7.30 am GMT. Hopefully, the weather remains good for us! Till then, goodbye and take care!

UPDATE - Well, the inevitable has happened, the game has been CALLED OFF! The players are shaking hands! We were just about to witness around 10 overs. There was rain before the game started which saw a long delay. The groundsmen did a brilliant job to get the ground ready but the rain which returned washed away the hopes of any kind of play.

Update - 1239 GMT - Nothing new to update. It continues to pour down and resumption looks very far away right now. Not a single moment on the ground as well.

Update - 1208 GMT - It has started to rain again and the players are running off the field. The covers are back on. We are in for another delay.

Azmatullah Omarzai to Sikandar Raza, Too full and on off, this is driven to mid off.

Azmatullah Omarzai to Sikandar Raza, A good length ball, outside off, swings away. Raza looks to push at it but misses.

AM Ghazanfar to Craig Ervine, Tossed up on middle, Ervine blocks it out.

AM Ghazanfar to Craig Ervine, Flat and outside off, turns in. Craig Ervine hangs his bat out and it rolls past his inside edge and just wide of the stumps.

AM Ghazanfar to Sikandar Raza, Fuller and on middle, Raza helps it to square leg for a quick single.

AM Ghazanfar to Sikandar Raza, An inswinger, flat and shaping on the pads. Raza misses his flick and gets hit on the pads.

AM Ghazanfar to Sikandar Raza, Full and around off, Raza leans and defends.

AM Ghazanfar to Craig Ervine, Tossed up on middle, Craig Ervine turns it to mid-wicket for a single.

Azmatullah Omarzai to Sikandar Raza, Shapes the other way now! Length and outside off, Raza looks to defend but is beaten once again.

Azmatullah Omarzai to Sikandar Raza, An absolute beauty from Azmatullah Omarzai! Unplayable! Bowls it full and outside off, swings in sharply and Raza is cut in half as he looks to defend but misses and it goes just past the pole.

Azmatullah Omarzai to Sikandar Raza, Wide! Dishes out well over the tramline. Raza leaves.

Sikandar Raza is the new man in.

Azmatullah Omarzai to Sean Williams, OUT! TAKEN! This is a soft dismissal! Azmatullah Omarzai gets another! Very full and in the corridor of uncertainty, outside off and Williams tries to push it away but edges it to the keeper, Ikram Alikhil who takes his second catch in the over.

Azmatullah Omarzai to Sean Williams, Too full and around off, Williams blocks it to cover.

Azmatullah Omarzai to Sean Williams, Azmatullah Omarzai is pleading for this one! Full and shaping on the pads. Williams misses his flick and gets hit on the pads. It was doing too much.

Sean Williams comes to the middle.

Azmatullah Omarzai to Ben Curran, OUT! EDGED AND GONE! Curran's debut comes to an end! An in-angler, full and on off, Curran tries to drive it straight and it induces an edge to the left of the keeper who dives and takes is sharply. Slip was present anyway but good take from the keeper.

Craig Ervine walks in next.

AM Ghazanfar to Dion Myers, OUT! LBW! Myers didn't read it at all, it was the one turning away from him, flat and on middle, Myers prods to defend in front of his pads but misses and gets pinged plumb in front. An appeal and up goes the finger.

AM Ghazanfar to Ben Curran, This is outside off again, Curran plays it to deep point and rotates the strike.

AM Ghazanfar to Ben Curran, An in angler, this is around off, Curran tucks it to mid-wicket.

AM Ghazanfar to Ben Curran, Well outside off, Curran cuts it through point for a couple of runs.

AM Ghazanfar to Ben Curran, Fuller ball outside off, Curran punches it back to the bowler.

AM Ghazanfar to Ben Curran, AM Ghazanfar starts with a flatter delivery on off, Curran blocks.

Azmatullah Omarzai to Dion Myers, On middle, Myers turns it to mid-wicket.

Azmatullah Omarzai to Dion Myers, Better! Length and outside off, Myers looks to poke at it but misses.

Azmatullah Omarzai to Dion Myers, Wide! Another wide as this is bowled down the leg side. Myers misses his flick. Good take.

Azmatullah Omarzai to Dion Myers, FIVE WIDES! Azmatullah Omarzai serves it short and it goes over Myers and over the keeper as well for a boundary.

Azmatullah Omarzai to Dion Myers, Touch fuller and outside off, Myers pushes it to cover.

Azmatullah Omarzai to Dion Myers, Full and outside off, swings away. Myers pushes it to mid off for a singleThe man there with a wild throw helps Zimbabwe as it rolls over the deck and they take a single.

Azmatullah Omarzai to Dion Myers, Good length ball, outside off, Myers punches it to cover.

Azmatullah Omarzai to Ben Curran, Full and on middle, Curran nudges it to mid-wicket for a single.

Fazalhaq Farooqi to Ben Curran, On middle. Curran works it through mid-wicket for one.

Fazalhaq Farooqi to Ben Curran, FOUR! Down the ground! Good response after being beaten. Takes a few steps down the track. This is full and on middle. It is driven down to the long on fence for a boundary.

Fazalhaq Farooqi to Ben Curran, That's a lovely nut! Fuller and outside off. This one shapes away. Curran is beaten as he looks to drive.

Fazalhaq Farooqi to Dion Myers, This is angled into the pads. Farooqui works it through mid-wicket. The fielder gives it a chase and keeps it down to three.

Fazalhaq Farooqi to Dion Myers, WIDE! Well wide outside off. Wided.

Fazalhaq Farooqi to Dion Myers, FOUR MORE! Nicely played! Fuller and outside off. Myers drives it through covers and this races away to the fence.

Fazalhaq Farooqi to Dion Myers, On middle. Good length. Blocked.

Azmatullah Omarzai to Dion Myers, Three! On the fuller side. This is driven. It goes through covers. Three taken.

Azmatullah Omarzai to Dion Myers, Outside off. Left alone.

Azmatullah Omarzai to Dion Myers, Length and around off. Blocked.

Azmatullah Omarzai to Brian Bennett, OUT! Taken! That's a sharp catch. Really sharp catch and Bennett goes first ball. Shorter and outside off. Brian pushes at it. This goes off the outside edge and to the right of second slip. It is taken by Nabi. Omarzai on a hat-trick.

Azmatullah Omarzai to Tadiwanashe Marumani, OUT! BOWLED! That's a peach of a nut! Wow! Unplayable! This starts outside off and swings back in a long way. Marumanilooke tk defend but this sneaks between bat and pad and hits the stumps. Early wicket for the visitors.

Azmatullah Omarzai to Ben Curran, Three! Not off the middle but three! Fuller and on off. This is lofted over cover and three is taken.

Fazalhaq Farooqi to Tadiwanashe Marumani, FOUR! Drilled away! Length and around off. This is driven past cover and this races away to the fence.

Fazalhaq Farooqi to Tadiwanashe Marumani, On middle. Kept out.

Fazalhaq Farooqi to Tadiwanashe Marumani, On the off pole. Marumani pushes it to cover again.

Fazalhaq Farooqi to Tadiwanashe Marumani, Fullish and outside off. Marumani looks to drive but is beaten.

Fazalhaq Farooqi to Tadiwanashe Marumani, Two! On middle. This is clipped through mid-wicket. Two taken.

Fazalhaq Farooqi to Tadiwanashe Marumani, Yet again the one which swings away. Marumani is beaten as he pushes at it.

Azmatullah Omarzai to Ben Curran, On off. On the fuller side. This is pushed to cover.

Azmatullah Omarzai to Ben Curran, Beaten! Length and around off. This shapes away. Curran looks to push at it but is beaten.

Azmatullah Omarzai to Ben Curran, Another one on a length and outside off. Left alone.

Azmatullah Omarzai to Ben Curran, Length again and around off. Curran looks to drive but it goes off the inner half back to the bowler.

Azmatullah Omarzai to Ben Curran, Two! On middle. Curran stays back and works it through square leg. Two taken.

Azmatullah Omarzai to Ben Curran, Good length and on middle. Curran looks to defend but gets an inside edge onto the pads.

Fazalhaq Farooqi to Tadiwanashe Marumani, A dot to end! Outside off. Length. This stays a touch low. Left alone.

Fazalhaq Farooqi to Tadiwanashe Marumani, WIDE! This one is down the leg side. Marumani looks to flick but misses. Wided.

Fazalhaq Farooqi to Ben Curran, First run off the bat! On middle. Curran tucks it on the leg side for one.

Fazalhaq Farooqi to Ben Curran, A yorker and on off. It is jammed out to cover.!

Fazalhaq Farooqi to Ben Curran, That's a beauty to begin! A lot of away movement. It starts on off and shapes away a long way. Curran looks to defend but is beaten.

Fazalhaq Farooqi to Ben Curran, Fuller and on off. Defended.

Fazalhaq Farooqi to Ben Curran, Beauty! Fuller and outside off. Shaping away. Curran is beaten as he tries to push at it.

Time for the action to begin! Out walk the players. Fazalhaq Farooqi to begin and he'll be bowling to Ben Curran.

So, it will be 28 overs per side, barring any more rain interruptions. The action will begin shortly.

Craig Ervine says they would have bowled first as well but will try and put up a decent score. Informs Ben Curran and Newman Nyamhuri are making their debuts.

Hashmatullah Shahidi says they'll bowl first as the wicket is also spicy and they want to take advantage of the first ten overs.

Zimbabwe (Playing XI) - Tadiwanashe Marumani(WK), Ben Curran, Dion Myers, Craig Ervine (C), Sean Williams, Sikandar Raza, Brian Bennett, Newman Nyamhuri, Richard Ngarava, Blessing Muzarabani, Trevor Gwandu.

Afghanistan (Playing XI) - Hashmatullah Shahidi (C), Rahmat Shah, Sediqullah Atal, Abdul Malik, Mohammad Nabi, Ikram Alikhil(WK), Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, AM Ghazanfar, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Naveed Zadran.

TOSS - Afghanistan have won the toss and will BOWL first!

UPDATE 1021 GMT - Excellent news! The covers are coming off! The conditions also look a lot better as the sun is shining and the sky seems clear too.

The covers are coming off.

UPDATE - 0912 GMT - Well, things were looking promising for a while but it has started to rain again and the blue sheets have been placed back on the ground. Let's hope it's a passing shower.

UPDATE - 0900 GMT - More good news! The covers have been removed. Looks like we will get some action shortly. Stay tuned. 

UPDATE - 0830 GMT - WE HAVE GOOD NEWS! The rain has stopped completely and it has gotten a lot brighter too. The match referee is assessing the conditions out in the middle. The covers are still firmly in place though. 

UPDATE - The rain continues to come down and the waiting game continues! The forecast isn't that bad but there are puddles seen on the ground. It could take some while for the ground to be game ready. First though, the rain has to stop. Fingers crossed for now. 

UPDATE - Well, we are hearing that the toss has been delayed as it is currently raining in Harare. Stay tuned for more updates.

Zimbabwe lacked a proper batter in the middle orders as seen in the T20I but have added Ben Curran to the squad and could well possibly make his debut for the hosts. Afghanistan on the other hand would rely on their spin trio, AM Ghazanfar, Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman to make amends for the visitors. Afghanistan are no doubt the favourite but the hosts will be eager to perform in front of their home crowd. Who do you think will win? Stay tuned.

Hello and welcome to the first ODI between Afghanistan and Zimbabwe. After an enthralling T20I series, it's time for the longest format in white ball cricket to kick off. Afghanistan have momentum on the tour after winning T20Is 2-1. Both teams have retained most of the squad but a couple of new faces have been added to watch out for. 

...MATCH DAY...

After clinching a 2-1 triumph in the T20I series, Afghanistan's all-format tour of Zimbabwe moves to an interesting three-match ODI contest. The iconic Harare Sports Club will be the exclusive venue hosting all three games. Zimbabwe, reeling from four straight T20I series defeats this calendar year, now seeks redemption under Craig Ervine's captaincy in the ODIs. While the tourists carry forward their winning momentum, the hosts are determined to reverse their fortunes in the longer white-ball format. Zimbabwe has largely retained its T20I squad for the ODI series while making a few notable additions. Ben Curran, a member of England's Curran cricketing family, joins the squad as a new promising face. The team has also strengthened its wicketkeeping department by bringing in Joylord Gumbie as an additional option behind the stumps. Zimbabwe's batting backbone consists of seasoned performers Sean Williams and all-rounder Sikandar Raza. Their bowling arsenal features pacers Blessing Muzarabani and Richard Ngarava, while Wellington Masakadza partners with Raza to handle the spin responsibilities. The visiting Afghanistan side, under Hashmatullah Shahidi's leadership, boasts a dynamic batting lineup. Power-hitter Rahmanullah Gurbaz pairs with the emerging Sediqullah Atal at the top, while the classical batter and vice-captain Rahmat Shah provides stability in the middle order. The team's strength lies in their versatile all-rounders - Azmatullah Omarzai, Gulbadin Naib, and the experienced Mohammad Nabi. Their formidable bowling unit combines the elite spin duo of Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman, supported by AM Ghazanfar with a highly capable pace department, making them a well-rounded force. With Zimbabwe seeking redemption and Afghanistan riding high on their T20I success, this ODI series promises to deliver compelling cricket across all three matches at the Harare Sports Club. In head-to-head ODI cricket between these two sides, Afghanistan holds the upper hand with 18 victories compared to Zimbabwe's 10 wins across their 28 encounters. But can Afghanistan challenge Zimbabwe on its home soil in the longer white-ball format? Which team will win the series opener? Let the games begin!