Zimbabwe vs Afghanistan 3rd T20I: Afghanistan defeated Zimbabwe by 3 wickets in the third and final T20I match at the Harare Sports Club on Sunday, December 14.

Afghanistan have won the three-match series 2-1 with a commendable effort in the low-scoring contest. They chased down the 128-run target in 19.3 overs.

Chasing the target, Afghanistan lost three quick wickets that too inside the powerplay as Sediqullah Atal (3), Zubaid Akbari (2) and Darwish Rasooli (9) departed cheaply.

They got a massive blow when Trevor Gwandu dismissed their star batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz for just 15 runs in the seventh over.

Azmatullah Omarzai and Gulbadin Naib then bailed their team out of trouble and stitched a crucial partnership of 48 runs for the fifth wicket.

Zimbabwe bounced back in the contest with the dismissal of Gulbadin who was dismissed by Sikandar Raza for 22 runs in as many balls in the 14th over.

After adding 22 more runs with senior all-rounder Mohammad Nabi, Omarzai departed for 34 runs which he scored with the help of just three boundaries. Raza dismissed him in the 18th over.

Nabi played an impactful cameo to take his team over the line in the all-important decider. He remained unbeaten on 24 runs off 18 balls, smashing three fours.

Raza, Blessing Muzarabani and Gwandu picked two wickets each for Zimbabwe whereas Richard Ngarava found a scalp as well.

After being put into bat first, the hosts were bowled out for 127 runs in 19.5 overs with Brian Bennett being their top run-getter. He scored 31 runs in 24 balls on the back of four boundaries.

Wessly Madhevere scored 21 runs while Wellington Masakadza came up with the contribution of 17 runs.

For Afghanistan, their skipper Rashid Khan was the pick of the bowlers. He took four wickets for just 27 runs in his four overs. He was well supported by other bowlers as Naveen-ul-Haq, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Azmatullah took two wickets each.

Azmatullah was adjudged as the Player of the Match for his all-round performance. Naveen-ul-Haq was named as the Player of the Series for his 8 wickets in three games at an average of 9.88.

Zimbabwe had won the series opener by four wickets before the visitors bounced back to make it 1-1 with a 50-run win.