Zimbabwe vs Afghanistan Prediction: Afghanistan have edge over Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe and Afghanistan are going head to head in Match 1 of the One Day Series at Harare Sports Club, Harare, Zimbabwe on 17 December 2024. Afghanistan have an advantage in head-to-head games between the two teams. Who will win this game of cricket?

Zimbabwe, on its batting side, will depend much on Craig Ervine, Sikandar Raza, Sean Williams, Brian Bennett, Tadiwanashe Marumani, and Dion Myers in scoring most runs. The top scorer of Zimbabwe from January 2024 until now in one-day as well as limited-overs cricket is Craig Ervine, who scored 157 runs in six matches along with two half-centuries.

On the bowling front, Zimbabwe will look towards Blessing Muzarabani, Richard Ngarava, Trevor Gwandu, Sikandar Raza, and Wellington Masakadza to pick up crucial wickets. Richard Ngarava has been the standout bowler for Zimbabwe in limited-overs cricket since January 2024, picking up 10 wickets in six matches at an economy rate of 4.80.

Craig Ervine (c), Tadiwanashe Marumani, Dion Myers, Sikandar Raza, Brian Bennett, Sean Williams, Ben Curran, Trevor Gwandu, Richard Ngarava, Wellington Masakadza, Blessing Muzarabani.

The team will rely on their key batsmen - Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Sadiqullah Atal, Rahmat Shah, and Mohammad Nabi - to score heavily in the coming matches. Rahmanullah Gurbaz has been in exceptional form since January 2024 and leads Zimbabwe's batting charts in limited-overs cricket with 531 runs in 11 innings, three centuries, and two half-centuries.

In the bowling department, they will look to Rashid Khan, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Nangeyalia Karote, AM Ghanzafar, and Gulbadin Naib for key breakthroughs. AM Ghanzafar has been their leading bowler this season taking 12 wickets from six limited-overs innings.

Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Sadiqullah Atal, Rahmat Shah, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Nangeyalia Karote, AM Ghanzafar, Gulbadin Naib.

Afghanistan, going by the look of it, seems to be quite fit and is likely to have confidence in their success to defeat Zimbabwe in the very opening match of the upcoming series. Under the stewardship of Hashmatullah Shahidi, Afghanistan clinched their first-ever win against South Africa in an ODI series and continued by beating Bangladesh. Afghanistan are expected to try to stretch their winning streak as well and win this game over Zimbabwe, which may take a 1-0 lead for them in the ODI series.