Zimbabwe's batting handicap returned to haunt them when they suffered a disappointing defeat to Afghanistan in the second T20I at Harare Sports Club and setup a winner-takes-all clash at the same venue today.
The Chevrons, who had taken the lead after winning the first match, put on a dull performance in the 50-run defeat yesterday.
The batting was a huge let down after they were bowled out for 103 runs in 17,4 overs. Afghanistan had again won the toss and elected to bat first, and putting 153/6 on the board in their allotted overs.
Zimbabwe skipper Sikandar Raza was not amused by the performance although he remained positive of a comeback in today's decider.
"Certainly, the batting seems to be the Achilles heel. Still struggling to score a total, but still believe we have got the quality in the change room and we can get the job done tomorrow," he said.
Raza was Zimbabwe's top scorer with 35 runs from 30 deliveries. Only two other batsmen managed double figures - Brian Bennett (27) and Tashinga Musekiwa (13).
Opening batsman Tadiwanashe (5) continued to struggle with his form after falling early in the run chase. Wickets continued to fall around his opening partner Bennett as Dion Myers (4), Wessly Madhevere (4) followed to leave the score on 40/3 soon after the powerplay.
The Afghanistan bowlers continued to strike at regular intervals and ensured no meaningful partnerships were developed.
Naveen-U-Haq (3/19) and Rashid Khan (3/20) shared six wickets between themselves while Mujib Ur Rahman had figures of 2/30 as Zimbabwe's batters found no answers to the visitors' attack.
"But it's painful to see the same mistakes being made," said Raza.
"Against Pakistan everywhere was a problem, having said that the openers have found a bit of a form.
"Bennett, Marumani and even Myers have looked good. It's not far when these three can win a game on their own. It was not a bad start, but after the powerplay we failed to capitalise."
Zimbabwe's bowlers put a decent shift and looked to restrict the Afghans in similar fashion to the first match, with Trevor Gwandu and Ryan Burl grabbing two wickets each. The home team, however, will look back to the penultimate over, which cost them 17 runs, as the turning point.
"In a T20I game there is bound to be an over which goes for 15+, I felt our bowling and fielding unit was fantastic," said Raza.
"These guys are the semi-finalists of the T20 World Cup; to beat them you can't have one department firing and these guys will make it difficult.
"We have to dig deep and find enough courage and we will have to perform in all three departments to beat them tomorrow (today)."
Afghanistan's Darwish Rasooli was named Man of the Match after his maiden half ton inspired his team to a decent score. Rasooli scored 58 from 42 balls.
Afghanistan captain Khan was excited with yesterday's result, which helped them keep the series alive.
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"The area we still struggled a bit was the top-order, the way Darwish came and played was really impressive. That's a position we have struggled," said Khan. He said the Afghanistan players were still trying to adapt to the pitch conditions.
"Compared to today, in the last game we gave away a lot of runs. It's a big ground to one side and we have to adjust quickly.
"Not many sixes were hit today and that day as well, it's how you play down the ground and play proper cricketing shots. It's not impossible to score more runs at the end and it's crucial to adapt to the conditions. Later on it gets easier to score," he said.
The series is now level 1-1, ahead of the decisive match today. The T20I series will be followed by a three-match ODI contest at the same venue next week.
