Afghanistan are all smiles after beating Zimbabwe 3-2

Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo

Afghanistan all-rounder Gulbadin Naib was the hero in the fifth and final ODI against Zimbabwe as he smashed an unbeaten 82 to lead his side to a thrilling two-wicket win and 3-2 series win.

However, Zimbabwe batsman Hamilton Masakadza deserves a lot of credit for his spectacular knock of 110.

Zimbabwe captain Elton Chigumbura would have been brooding over his decision to bat first as Masakadza, Peter Moor and wicketkeeper Richmond Mutumbami were the only two batsmen to make major contributions.

Moor set the foundation with his solid knock of 42 before Mutumbami took over and scored 40. However, it was all Masakadza from that point on as he went on to score a splendid 110, which came off 111 balls and included nine boundaries and four sixes.

Masakadza celebrates after scoring his fourth ODI century

Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo

However, since Masakadza did not receive enough support from his team-mates, Zimbabwe were bowled out for 248.

Amir Hamza was the pick of the bowlers with three wickets, while Dawlat Zadran, Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan snapped up two wickets apiece and Mirwais Ashraf chipped in with one.

Chasing 249 to win, Afghanistan got off to a solid start before they started losing wickets at regular intervals. As a result, they were reduced to 146/6 in the 35th over, but Naib refused to go down without a fight and hammered an unbeaten 82 off 68 balls, which included three boundaries and six sixes, to lead his side to victory with just two balls to spare.

Naib roars in delight after leading Afghanistan to victory

Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo

Luke Jongwe was the most successful bowler with three wickets, while Neville Madziva and Sikandar Raza took two wickets apiece and Graeme Cremer claimed one.

Naib was named Man of the Match, while Afghanistan wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Shahzad received the Man of the Series award.