Zimbabwe out to restore pride in Masakadza’s farewell match

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CHATTOGRAM, Sept 19, 2019 (BSS)-Zimbabwe has already been eliminated from the race of the Tri-nation T20 series final but the stake is high for them when they take on Afghanistan in their last match at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram on Friday.

The match kicks off at 6.30 PM.

The match is a dead-rubber one with both Bangladesh and Afghanistan making the final. But as the captain Hamilton Masakadza will walk into the sunset after the match, Zimbabwe is looking to give him a winning farewell and at the same time want to restore some pride with at least a victory.

But the task is tougher for them, as they never won any T20 International match against the Afghans.

The two team so far met eight times including the one in the ongoing tournament and Afghanistan won the all the matches in comprehensive manner.

In the first match of the tournament Afghanistan beat Zimbabwe by 28 runs.

Zimbabwe also lost their both group phase match against Bangladesh-by three wickets and 39 runs.

Apart from beating Zimbabwe, Afghanistan also beat Bangladesh by 25 runs.

Afghanistan however came to practice session on Thursday after a day gap. A relaxed mood is prevailing in the Afghanistan camp as they opted not to take on the field for the first time on Wednesday since their arrival in Bangladesh.

This was quite unusual considering they were the team that prepared them through participating in every net session since the beginning of the Test series.

The only area of concern for the Afghans looked to be the unavailability of interim head coach Andy Moles as he is currently hospitalized in Dhaka for his infection on his legs.

Moles had sustained the infection during their preparation camp at Dubai but attended all the practice session wearing a bandage on his leg.

Batting coach Nawraz Mangal is currently looking after them as the head coach and the former national skipper and selector would be keen to start his journey on a winning note as they take on Zimbabwe tomorrow.

But for Zimbabwe, it is the match to make it remember for the cause of Masakadza and for the cause of breaking the defeat jinx against Afghanistan.