Afghanistan vs Zimbabwe 1st ODI Match Preview, Probable XIs, Match Prediction, Pitch Report & More

Zimbabwe are all set to host Afghanistan for a three-match ODI series followed by a three-match T20I series. The first ODI is scheduled to take place on June 4 (Saturday) at the Harare Sports Club. The hosts last played an ODI match in January when they faced Sri Lanka for a bilateral series, but unfortunately lost it by 2-1. Afghanistan, on the other hand, faced Bangladesh earlier this year in February for a bilateral series. Losing the first two ODIs of the three-match series, they won the final fixture, thereby losing the series by 2-1. But they will hope to continue their form from the warm-up game against Zimbabwe’s select XI which they won by 68 runs. Match Details Venue: Harare Sports Club, Harare Date and Time: June 4, 2022, at 12:45 PM IST Pitch Report The surface will benefit both batters and bowlers equally. It can be a high-scoring pitch once the turf is used, and thus the batters will be looking to settle in the game in order to hit big later. The bowlers will get a lot out of this pitch. The average first innings score is 230, and thus the toss-winning captain would look to bat first. Probable Playing XIs for Zimbabwe vs Afghanistan Zimbabwe Takudzwanashe Kaitano, Dion Myers, Regis Chakabva (wk), Craig Ervine (c), Wessley Madhevere, Sikandar Raza, Ryan Burl, Ainsley Ndlovu, Blessing Muzarabani, Tendai Chatara, Luke Jongwe Afghanistan Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Riaz Hassan, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Yamin Ahmadzai, Fazalhaq Farooqi Probable Top Performers Probable best batter of the match Rahmanullah Gurbaz: Opening batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz produced a magnificent century in the last ODI that Afghanistan played against Bangladesh. He remained unbeaten, scoring a 110-ball 106 to lead his team towards victory. With a strong batting line-up, he will be looking to give a kick start to the innings and score big batting on top. Probable best bowler of the match Rashid Khan: Prolific all-rounder Rashid Khan will be in good form after his successful IPL stint. He was one of the standout performers in Afghanistan’s previous ODI series and helped his side by picking a handful of wickets. He will look to execute his techniques and make his experience work. Today’s match prediction: Afghanistan to win the match.