Azmatullah Omarzai’s 116 off 50 sinks Zimbabwe in Sharjah T20I

Azmatullah Omarzai scored 116 off 50 balls, his maiden T20I century, as Afghanistan beat Zimbabwe by 19 runs in the second T20I in Sharjah on Thursday, 29 October. Afghanistan made 221/7 in 20 overs after being reduced to 5-4, and Zimbabwe finished on 202/5.

The result gives Afghanistan a 2-0 lead in the series, which they have now sealed, Tribune India reports.

The innings

Omarzai walked in at number four in the fourth over with Afghanistan in trouble. His 116 contained five fours and 12 sixes. Wisden reports that he became the first player from a full-member side to score a century from number six or lower, and that Afghanistan’s total is the highest in men’s T20Is after the fourth wicket fell, beating India’s 212-4 from 2024.

He added 142 for the sixth wicket with Ijaz Ahmad Ahmadzai, who made 52 off 27 balls. That is the highest T20I partnership for the sixth wicket or lower. Rashid Khan finished unbeaten on 25 off 6 balls.

Zimbabwe’s bowlers were led by Brad Evans and Kundai Matigimu, who took two wickets each while Afghanistan batted. Evans conceded 40 runs and Matigimu 48.

Raza’s 93 not enough

Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza kept them in the chase with an unbeaten 93 off 52 balls, according to our scorecard. Tafadzwa Tsiga added an unbeaten 30 off 22. Brian Bennett made 22 and Innocent Kaia 25.

For Afghanistan, Abdullah Ahmadzai took 2 for 34 and Rashid Khan 1 for 29. Omarzai also bowled two overs and took 1 for 17, adding a wicket to his century.

What’s next

Afghanistan won the first T20I by 37 runs on 27 October, in the Afghanistan vs Zimbabwe in UAE, 2026 series that runs from 27 October to 17 November. The third T20I is on Sunday, 1 November at 8:00 PM IST. The two-Test series follows, with the first Test starting on Thursday, 5 November at 11:00 AM IST and the second on Friday, 13 November, also at 11:00 AM IST.