Head-to-Head

The last three Afghanistan–Zimbabwe meetings have all gone Afghanistan’s way. Most recently, Afghanistan won by 19 runs after batting first and setting the game up with a big total. Zimbabwe’s reply still crossed the 200 mark, but the chase finished short with five wickets down. Earlier in the same series, Afghanistan again batted first and won more comfortably, by 37 runs. Going back to the previous year, Afghanistan edged Zimbabwe by 9 runs in a match where they chased the target with seven wickets in hand, and the pattern across these games has been Afghanistan finding ways to close tight finishes as well as defend totals.

AFAfghanistan 221/7

ZIZimbabwe 202/5

2026-10-29 · AFG won by 19 runs

AFAfghanistan 177/10

ZIZimbabwe 140/10

2026-10-27 · AFG won by 37 runs

ZIZimbabwe 201/10

AFAfghanistan 210/3

2025-11-02 · AFG won by 9 runs

Afghanistan

Afghanistan sit on a 5W-4L record with an NRR of -0.099. Their last three results include two wins over Zimbabwe by 19 runs and 37 runs, both built from batting first. The other recent marker is a loss to Nepal by five wickets with 16 balls remaining, a game where AFG batted first and couldn’t defend what they set. That mix captures their current shape: capable of putting enough on the board to control games, but not always able to turn a first-innings effort into a defended result.

AFAfghanistan 221/7

ZIZimbabwe 202/5

2026-10-29 · AFG won by 19 runs

AFAfghanistan 177/10

ZIZimbabwe 140/10

2026-10-27 · AFG won by 37 runs

AFAfghanistan 94/10

INIndia 221/7

2026-09-17 · IND won by 127 runs

Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe’s recent run has included a 48-run defeat to South Africa, where they batted second and were bowled out in the chase. In this tournament they’re 2W-8L with an NRR of -1.603, and their last three matches include two losses to Afghanistan by 19 runs and 37 runs. The immediate challenge for ZIM is converting competitive moments into full 50-over performances, because the results have repeatedly slipped away even when the chase has had substance.

ZIZimbabwe 202/5

AFAfghanistan 221/7

2026-10-29 · AFG won by 19 runs

ZIZimbabwe 140/10

AFAfghanistan 177/10

2026-10-27 · AFG won by 37 runs

ZIZimbabwe 157/7

INIndia 192/5

2026-07-26 · IND won by 35 runs

Expected Lineups

AFG ZIM

Afghanistan’s likely XI from the squad leans heavily on allround depth, with Azmatullah Omarzai, Sharafuddin Ashraf and Shahidullah Kamal the three highest-impact names in the group. Rashid Khan and Fazalhaq Farooqi shape the bowling options in that projected side, while Rahmanullah Gurbaz is the designated wicketkeeper in the XI shown. The final XI is still to come, but the spine of this team looks built around those multi-skill players.

Best players

CareeriCareer impact per match: runs + wickets + strike-rate, across the player's whole record. Higher is better.FormiThe same impact score over the player's last 5 matches — current form rather than career. Higher is better.

Azmatullah Omarzai

Allrounder

32.966

Sharafuddin Ashraf

Allrounder

31.827

Shahidullah Kamal

Allrounder

30.834.3

Zimbabwe’s projected combination is driven by a core of impact players led by Brian Bennett, Brad Evans and Sikandar Raza. The likely XI also includes Richard Ngarava and Blessing Muzarabani as frontline bowling options, with Clive Madande named as the wicketkeeper in the side shown. With the official XI still pending, the main question is how much of the load that Evans–Raza axis can carry across both disciplines.

Best players

CareeriCareer impact per match: runs + wickets + strike-rate, across the player's whole record. Higher is better.FormiThe same impact score over the player's last 5 matches — current form rather than career. Higher is better.

Brian Bennett

Bowler

35.516.1

Brad Evans

Allrounder

33.445.1

Sikandar Raza

Allrounder

31.558.8

Key Stats

Prediction

All four models side with Afghanistan, with the model-average win probability at 71% (the individual calls range from 64% to 78%). The bookmakers also lean the same way: Afghanistan 75% (odds 1.27) versus Zimbabwe 25% (odds 3.70). That leaves a 4.2 percentage-point model-vs-market edge in favour of ZIM (model average 71% vs market 75% for AFG). On the Key Stats card it’s AFG 4 - 2 ZIM, with the biggest separators coming from the raw NRR gap (AFG -0.10 vs ZIM -1.60) and the Elo ratings (1553 vs 1479). If Zimbabwe are to flip the script, it likely needs their top-end impact trio—Bennett, Evans and Raza—to turn influence into a complete match, because the recent head-to-head has repeatedly ended with Afghanistan holding the closing overs.