Afghanistan beat Zimbabwe by 37 runs in the first T20 international of their three-match series at Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Tuesday 27 October 2026. Zimbabwe won the toss and chose to field first, but Afghanistan recovered from a difficult start to post 177 all out in 19.5 overs, and Zimbabwe were then bowled out for 140 in 19.1 overs.

Recovery led by the lower order

Ahmadzai top-scored for Afghanistan with 52 runs from 22 balls, while Shahidullah Kamal made 46 and captain Rashid Khan added a quick 30 from 10 balls. For Zimbabwe, Newman Nyamhuri took four wickets for 31 runs. In reply, Ryan Burl top-scored with 32, but Afghanistan's bowlers shared the wickets: Fazalhaq Farooqi took three for 13, while Azmatullah Omarzai, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Rashid Khan took two wickets each.

The match was played as a night match at Sharjah, with a local start time of 18:30.

The result gave Afghanistan a 1-0 lead, with the second match scheduled for 29 October. The sources disagree on the player of the match: one match report names Shahidullah, while the ESPNcricinfo scorecard's player-of-the-match figures, 30 runs from 10 balls and two wickets for 20, match Rashid Khan's contribution, so this brief does not name a single award winner.

Sources: ESPNcricinfo and Rana TV.