Zimbabwe hand Tsiga and Masakesa debuts and bowl against Afghanistan

Toss Zimbabwe chose to bowl vs Afghanistan

Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza opted to bowl for the second game running as his side looked to keep the three-match T20I series alive against Afghanistan in Sharjah. Zimbabwe made three changes, handing T20I debuts to Tafadzwa Tsiga and Vincent Masekesa, while Afghanistan brought in Fareed Ahmad and Abdullah Ahmadzai.

Tsiga, Masekesa and Kundai Matigimu replaced Ben Curran, Wellington Masakadza and Newman Nyamhuri. Blessing Muzarabani, who missed the opening game after failing to recover from a niggle, remained outside the XI.

Afghanistan rested Fazalhaq Farooqi and Noor Ahmad after their 37-run win in the first T20I. Fareed and Abdullah joined an attack that retained Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Azmatullah Omarzai.

Raza wanted his bowlers to draw inspiration from their performance over the first 12 overs of the opening game, but sustain that pressure throughout the innings. Zimbabwe had reduced Afghanistan to 66 for 5 in that match before the lower middle order turned things around.

Zimbabwe's changes meant they left out Nyamhuri despite his four-wicket haul in the opening game. Ernest Masuku, who took two wickets on his T20I debut in that match, kept his place alongside Brad Evans and Matigimu in the pace attack. Masekesa replaced Masakadza as the specialist spinner.

Afghanistan have the same top seven, giving the batting group another opportunity after the early setbacks in the first game. Their two changes were confined to the bowling attack, with Farooqi sitting out despite having returned the best figures on either side in the opener.

The first-game victory extended Afghanistan's winning streak against Zimbabwe in T20Is to six matches. Rashid, meanwhile, is one wicket away from becoming the first man to 200 T20I wickets.

Afghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran (capt), Sediqullah Atal, Mohammad Akram, Azmatullah Omarzai, Ijaz Ahmad Ahmadzai, Shahidullah Kamal, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Abdullah Ahmadzai, Fareed Ahmad

Zimbabwe: Brian Bennett, Innocent Kaia, Sikandar Raza (capt), Ryan Burl, Tadiwanashe Marumani (wk), Wessly Madhevere, Tafadzwa Tsiga, Brad Evans, Kundai Matigimu, Ernest Masuku, Vincent Masekesa