Zimbabwe bat with two changes; Farooqi back for Afghanistan

Zimbabwe brought in Newman Nyamhuri and Tadiwanashe Marumani in place of Ernest Masuku and Ben Curran

VLive Sports DeskSyndicated Wire Coverage (ESPNcricinfo / Sports Feeds)

Oct 23, 2026, 11:32 AM1 hrs ago

Fazalhaq Farooqi returned to the Afghanistan XIICC/Getty Images

Match at a Glance & Key Facts

TournamentUAE ODI Tri-SeriesSeason 2026/27

Venue

Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium

Sharjah

Format & Details

ODI • SINGLE

Zimbabwe chose to bat.

KEY TAKEAWAYSQuick highlights & editorial summary

VLive Sports Desk

Editorial Angle:Analysis of Zimbabwe bat with two changes; Farooqi back for Afghanistan: Zimbabwe brought in Newman Nyamhuri and Tadiwanashe Marumani in place of Ernest Masuku and Ben Curran — assessing tactical impact and tournament progression.
Score Snapshot:ZIM 26/1 vs AFG — Zimbabwe chose to bat.
Tactical Context:Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza chose to bat first against Afghanistan in the tri-series final in Sharjah.
Tournament Context:Part of UAE ODI Tri-Series 2026/27. Follow real-time tournament standings, fixture progression, and live scorecards on VLive.

Toss Zimbabwe chose to bat vs Afghanistan

Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza chose to bat first against Afghanistan in the tri-series final in Sharjah. It is a crucial toss to win in day-night matches at this venue, where sides batting first who score more than 250 often have a better chance to win the match.

Zimbabwe have brought back left-arm quick Newman Nyamhuri in place of Ernest Masuku, who took three wickets against Afghanistan in their round-robin encounter. They have also included Tadiwanashe Marumani in place of the misfiring Ben Curran in the opening slot. Craig Ervine's unavailability continues to hurt Zimbabwe.

Afghanistan made just the one change, bringing back the rested Fazalhaq Farooqi, in place of Yamin Ahmadzai.

Afghanistan have been the best team in the tournament so far, beating both Zimbabwe and Bangladesh comprehensively. Zimbabwe made it to the final on the back of their 99-run win against Bangladesh in the opening game.

Sharjah meanwhile is hosting its first final in 23 years, and incidentally, Zimbabwe played in that match against Pakistan in 2003.

Afghanistan: 1 Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), 2 Ibrahim Zadran, 3 Sediqullah Atal, 4 Rahmat Shah (capt), 5 Hashmatullah Shahidi, 6 Azmatullah Omarzai, 7 Mohammad Nabi, 8 Rashid Khan, 9 AM Ghazanfar, 10 Bilal Sami, 11 Fazalhaq Farooqi

Zimbabwe: 1 Brian Bennett, 2 Tadiwanashe Marumani, 3 Tafadzwa Tsiga, 4 Brendan Taylor (wk), 5 Sikandar Raza (capt), 6 Ryan Burl, 7 Wessley Madhevere, 8 Brad Evans, 9 Wellington Masakadza, 10 Newman Nyamhuri, 11 Blessing Muzarabani

Syndication & Sourcing Notice: Match coverage, narrative reporting, and statistics are syndicated from ESPNcricinfo and cricket wire data feeds. Curated, formatted, and enriched with real-time match state, scorecard snapshots, and key takeaways by VLive Sports Desk. Read our Editorial Guidelines & Syndication Standards.

Related Topics

UAE ODI Tri-Series Afghanistan Zimbabwe

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