He bagged figures of 5/33 in his 10 overs.
Mumbai Indians’ (MI) Afghanistan spin sensation Allah Ghazanfar, who was secured by the five-time Indian Premier League (IPL) winners at last month’s auction for INR 4.8 crores, has impressed by taking a record fifer during the ZIM vs AFG 3rd ODI earlier today. He bagged figures of 5/33 in his 10 overs.
The 18-year-old teenage prodigy has now joined an elite list of cricketers to take more than one fifer in the 50-over format before turning 19 years old. Only Pakistan’s Waqar Younis and Ghazanfar’s compatriot Rashid Khan are the two other bowlers to pick up more than one ODI five-for before turning 19.
Overall, only seven players have a five-wicket haul in the format before turning 19, with Mujeeb Ur Rahman being the third Afghanistan player on the list.
Notably, Ghazanfar’s first fifer came only last month when he finished with figures of 6/26 in 6.3 overs in an ODI against Bangladesh in Sharjah.
Speaking about the match, Allah Ghazanfar played a pivotal role in dismantling Zimbabwe’s batting lineup, starting with their top order and then later striking in the lower-middle order. He removed opener Joylord Gumbie in the seventh over and came back in the ninth over to trap Ben Curran LBW.
While Rashid Khan caused trouble during the middle overs, Ghazanfar returned to claim three more wickets, completing his five-wicket haul. He dismissed wicketkeeper-batter Tadiwanashe Marumani, Wellington Masakadza, and Newman Nyamhuri, helping Afghanistan bowl Zimbabwe out for a mere 127 runs.
Afghanistan chased the target with ease, thanks to a half-century from Sediqullah Atal and valuable contributions from Abdul Malik, Rahmat Shah, and skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi as the visitors comfortably secured the ODI series with a 2-0 whitewash.
The opening match was abandoned due to rain, but Afghanistan went on to win the remaining two games and also triumphed in the T20I leg with a 2-1 margin.
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