He achieved figures of 5/33 in his 10 overs.
Mumbai Indians’ (MI) Afghanistan sensation Allah Ghazanfar, who was secured by the five-time Indian Premier League (IPL) winners in last month’s auction for INR 4.8 crore, has impressed the take a record five times during the third ODI of ZIM vs AFG. earlier today. He achieved figures of 5/33 in his 10 overs.
The 18-year-old teenage prodigy has now joined an elite list of cricketers who have taken more than a fifty in the 50-over format before turning 19. Only Pakistan’s Waqar Younis and Ghazanfar’s compatriot Rashid Khan are the other two players to have scored more than one ODI five before turning 19.
In total, only seven players have a five-wicket haul in the format before turning 19, with Mujeeb Ur Rahman being the third Afghan player on the list.
Notably, Ghazanfar’s first five came just last month when he finished with figures of 6/26 in 6.3 overs in an ODI against Bangladesh in Sharjah.
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Allah Ghazanfar’s heroic acts help Afghanistan secure series of cover-ups
Talking about the match, Allah Ghazanfar played a pivotal role in dismantling Zimbabwe’s batting line-up, starting with their top order and then attacking in the lower-middle order. He removed opener Joylord Gumbie in the seventh over and returned in the ninth to catch Ben Curran LBW.
While Rashid Khan caused problems during the middle overs, Ghazanfar came back to claim three more wickets, completing his five-wicket haul. He dismissed wicketkeeper-batsman Tadiwanashe Marumani, Wellington Masakadza and Newman Nyamhuri, helping Afghanistan eliminate Zimbabwe for just 127 runs.
Afghanistan chased down the target with ease, thanks to a half-century from Sediqullah Atal and valuable contributions from Abdul Malik, Rahmat Shah and captain Hashmatullah Shahidi as the visitors comfortably clinched the ODI series with a 2-0 whitewash.
The opening match was called off due to rain, but Afghanistan won the remaining two games and also triumphed in the T20I match with a margin of 2-1.
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