Sharjah, 28 December - The Afghanistan cricket team cruised into the top 10 in the International Cricket Council One-Day International (ODI) rankings for the first time after a thumping 49-run win in their first match against Zimbabwe here.
The key architects of the win were opener Noor Ali Zadran and left-arm spinner Amir Hamza, who made 63 and took four wickets, respectively, as Afghanistan successfully defended the lowest total - 131 - for an associate against a full member, espncricinfo reported on Sunday.
Afghanistan will have an opportunity to remain at the tenth position should they win the five-match series against Zimbabwe. A series loss, however, means they will return to their original World no.12 ranking, behind Zimbabwe and Ireland.
