The cricket history between the Zimbabwe and Afghanistan National Teams is filled with strange matches and burgeoning rivalries. Although the Zimbabwe national cricket team acquired Full membership by the ICC in 1992, Afghanistan received its full membership in 2017; the latter has an upper hand on Zimbabwe. Their rivalry has largely centered on Afghanistan’s dominance in ODI and T20 cricket. Afghanistan played well in all the matches, but still, Zimbabwe managed to defeat Afghanistan in their first encounter in an ODI match that happened on July 18 in 2014. The Zimbabwe National Cricket Team vs Afghanistan National Cricket Team Timeline reveals the games that stand out, close calls, victories at the last minute, and, of course, the drama on the field. This timeline records the key matches, series, and interesting battles the Afghan Atalans and Chevrons have fought during their cricket journey. This write-up provides an insight into this interesting rivalry.
Zimbabwe National Cricket Team vs Afghanistan National Cricket Team Timeline
Early Encounters: 2014-2020
- 2014-2015 Zimbabwe v Afghanistan: It was the first ODI series between the Chevrons and Afghans, which was played in Bulawayo in 2014, and the hosts won consistently for the first two matches by 6 wickets in the first match and 8 wickets in the second. But the Afghan Atalans leveled up this series 2-2 by winning the rest of the 2 matches, where in the 4th match they registered a huge win by 100 runs.
- 2015-2016 Zimbabwe v Afghanistan (ODIs): The two teams met again after a year on the ground of Zimbabwe (Bulawayo), Afghanistan won the 5-match series 3-2. Aghan Atalans won the second, fourth, and fifth matches, while Zimbabwe won the first and third matches of the series.
- 2015-2016 Zimbabwe v Afghanistan (T20Is): Both teams have played their first T20 Series on 26th October 2015 on the soil of Zimbabwe (Bulawayo). The Afghan Atalans whitewashed the Chevron in their first T20I series. In the first match, Dawlat Zadran from the team Afghanistan was the man of the match as he took 3 wickets. In the second match, Gulbadin Naib was named the man of the match.
- 2017-2018 Afghanistan v Zimbabwe (ODI): Afghan Atalans won the 5-match series 4-1. Afghanistan won by 154 runs in the first match, and then Zimbabwe proved to Afghans by defeating them with the same margin in the second match of the series. Afterwards, Afghanistan won the rest of the matches and proved their dominance over Chevrons on their land.
2021 to Recent Encounters
- 2020-2021 Afghanistan v Zimbabwe- Zimbabwe played its first Test match against Afghanistan on 2nd March, 2021 at Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi. Zimbabwe won the first test match of the series by 10 wickets, whereas Afghanistan won the second game played on 10th March, 2021 by 6 wickets. Sean Williams from the Zimbabwe team was the man of the match in the first match. Hashmatullah Shahidi won the man of the match in the second test.
- 2022 Zimbabwe v Afghanistan (ODI)- The Afghan Atalans clean-swept the Chevrons; they won their first match by 60 runs, which was played in Harare on 4th June, 2022. The second match was won by 8 wickets with 33 balls remaining, and the third match was won by 4 wickets with 74 balls remaining. The best players were Rahmat Shah, Ibrahim Zadran, and Rashid Khan, who helped Afghanistan win the series 3-0.
- 2022 Zimbabwe v Afghanistan (T20Is)- Afghanistan made a significant mark by securing a 3-0 win in the 3-match T20 series victory over Zimbabwe in 2022. In the opening match of the series, the Afghan team triumphed by 6 wickets, finishing with 4 balls to spare. The second match was won by 21 runs, and the third match was won by 35 runs.
- 2024-2025 Zimbabwe v Afghanistan (ODIs)- This is a 3-match series played in 2024 at Harare. The first match of the series ended without any result due to rain and wet ground. But the rest of the two matches were won by Afghanistan. They won by 232 runs in the second match and by 8 wickets with 139 balls remaining in the third.
- 2024-2025 Zimbabwe v Afghanistan (T20Is)- The 3-match T20I series was played in Harare, and Afghanistan clinched the series 2-1, while Zimbabwe won the first game by 4 wickets with 0 balls to spare, Afghanistan won the second game by 50 runs, and third by 3 wickets with 3 balls remaining.
- 2024-2025 Zimbabwe v Afghanistan (Test)- Afghanistan won the two-match test series 1-0 by winning the second game with a margin of 72 runs. The first match of the series ended in a draw; however, in this game, both teams showed exceptional batting. Zimbabwe scored 586 runs in the first innings, whereas Afghanistan put a humongous 699 runs on the scoreboard in the only innings they played in the match.
Through the Zimbabwe National Cricket Team vs Afghanistan National Cricket Team timeline, we can get an idea that Afghanistan played well and won matches against Zimbabwe, but Zimbabwe also played fabulously in some of their matches. The two sides have written their cricket story, from exhilarating ODIs and nail-biting T20Is to tough and gritty Test match battles.
