Noor Ahmad claimed a career-best five-wicket haul as Afghanistan bowled Zimbabwe out for 79 before completing a seven-wicket victory in the third T20I in Sharjah on Sunday. The result sealed a 3-0 series whitewash for Afghanistan.
The left-arm wrist-spinner took five wickets for 13 runs in 3.3 overs, dismantling Zimbabwe’s middle and lower order after the visitors had lost three wickets inside the first four overs.
Zimbabwe, sent in to bat, never recovered from that early collapse. Ryan Burl offered some resistance with 30 from 29 balls, while Wessly Madhevere scored 10. No other batter reached double figures as Zimbabwe were dismissed in 14.3 overs.
Afghanistan had already made an early impact through Fazalhaq Farooqi and Azmatullah Omarzai, who struck in the opening two overs. Abdullah Tarakhail then removed captain Sikandar Raza to leave Zimbabwe at 13 for three.
Noor entered the attack as the fifth bowler and changed the contest. He took three wickets in his second over before adding two more to finish with the best figures of his T20I career.
The performance also marked a first for Afghanistan, with Noor becoming the country’s first left-arm spinner to take a five-wicket haul in men’s T20Is.
Afghanistan made light work of the chase, reaching 81 for three in 8.1 overs. Ibrahim Zadran remained unbeaten on 25, while Sediqullah Atal scored 20 and Azmatullah Omarzai finished 18 not out.
Noor was named Player of the Match. Omarzai collected the Player of the Series award after scoring 141 runs and taking four wickets across the three matches.
Afghanistan had won the opening T20I by 37 runs and the second by 19 runs before completing the clean sweep.
The teams will remain in Sharjah for a two-Test series, with the first match scheduled to begin on 5 November. Afghanistan head into the longer format after also winning a tri-nation ODI series involving Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.
