Tashinga Musekiwa struck 11 runs off the final over on Wednesday to give Zimbabwe their second-ever victory against Afghanistan in a T20 international.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
After hitting 10 runs off five balls, including a four, to tie the scores in the first of a three-match series, he claimed one run from the final ball bowled by Azmatullah Omarzai for a dramatic win.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Batting at No. 7, Musekiwa (16) lifted Zimbabwe to 145-6 off 20 overs, and a four-wicket triumph, after Afghanistan won the toss and posted 144-6 at Harare Sports Club.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"It is always nice to contribute to a win. Credit to Musekiwa at the end," said top Zimbabwe scorer and player-of-the-match Brian Bennett, who made 49.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"It was nice to bat with Dion (Myers). We were thinking if we could keep up with the run rate we had a good chance of success."<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan said: "We wanted to get a good total on the board, but finished about 20 runs short of where we would have liked to be.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"We gave away so many wickets early on and in Twenty20 matches it is difficult to fight back. We could also have bowled better."<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The rare T20 triumph for Zimbabwe over Afghanistan came five years ago after their only other victory -- in Bangladesh port city Chittagong.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
In a seesaw opening match of eight in an all-format tour, Afghanistan recovered from losing five wickets for 58 runs to post a defendable total.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Karim Janat, who finished unbeaten on 54 for his fourth T20 half-century, and 39-year-old Mohammad Nabi, who contributed 44, turned the tide, adding 79 runs for the sixth wicket.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
In reply, a 75-run second-wicket partnership between opener Bennett and Myers (32) took Zimbabwe to 86-2.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Wickets then fell regularly, including captain Sikandar Raza for just nine, as the home side inched toward the target.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Khan took the wickets of Bennett and Ryan Burl within four balls during the 17th over to seemingly tilt the balance toward the tourists.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
But Musekiwa rose to the occasion as Zimbabwe entered the final over needing 11 runs for victory after losing 2-1 to Pakistan in Bulawayo this month in another T20 series.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Zimbabwean Richard Ngarava and Afghan Naveen-ul-Haq were the pick of the bowlers, taking three wickets each.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The teams meet again on Friday and Saturday, followed by a three-match one-day international series and two Tests.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\r\nBrief scores<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Afghanistan 144-6 in 20 overs (Karim Janat 54 not out, Mohammad Nabi 44; Richard Ngarava 3-28) v Zimbabwe 145-6 in 20 overs (Brian Bennett 49, Dion Myers 32; Naveen ul-Haq 3-33, Rashid Khan 2-26)<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Result: Zimbabwe win by four wickets<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Series: Zimbabwe lead 1-0 with two matches to play<\/p>\r\n\r\n