The Afghanistan cricket team is currently on a Zimbabwe tour for a full-fledged series, featuring a three-match T20I series, a three-match ODI series, and a one-off Test match. The Afghan side has already clinched the T20I series 2-1 by winning the last two matches against Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe and Afghanistan are currently engaged in the three-match ODI series. However, the first ODI match ended in no result, as the rain washed out the match in Harare. Well, the tourists continued their stellar form and handed a massive defeat to Zimbabwe in the second ODI.
Afghanistan secures lead in ODI series but Fazalhaq Farooqi faces ICC fine
The Afghan team crushed Zimbabwe by 232 runs in the second ODI to take a 1-0 lead in the ongoing ODI series on Thursday, December 19, with the third and final match scheduled for December 21 in Harare. However, this win turned out to be forgettable for the Afghan star.
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Actually, the Afghanistan pacer Fazalhaq Farooqi has been fined 15% of his match fee for breaching Level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct during the second ODI match against Zimbabwe in Harare. The International Cricket Council (ICC) announced the reprimand on Friday (December 20).
Along with the fine, Farooqi also received one demerit point, marking his first disciplinary offence in the past 24 months. The star pacer admitted his blunder and accepted the sanction proposed by the match referee, Andy Pycroft, and the other match officials.
Fazalhaq Farooqi penalized by the ICC for showing dissent at the umpire
Meanwhile, the incident happened in the fifth over of Zimbabwe’s innings when Fazalhaq Farooqi showed dissent after an LBW appeal against Craig Ervine was turned down. Despite DRS not being available, Farooqi made a review signal and breached Article 2.8 of the ICC Code.
Article 2.8 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel refers to “showing dissent at an umpire’s decision during an international match.” Notably, match referee Andy Pycroft, on-field umpires Chris Brown and Percival Sizara, third umpire Langton Rusere, and fourth umpire Iknow Chabi leveled the charges against Fazalhaq Farooqi.
The ICC said in an official statement: “Afghanistan fast bowler Fazalhaq Farooqi has been fined 15% of his match fee for breaching Level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct. In addition, one demerit point has been added to Fazalhaq’s disciplinary record, for whom it was the first offence in a 24-month period.”
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ZIM vs AFG 2nd ODI Match Highlight
Speaking about the second ODI in Harare, the Afghanistan cricket team delivered an outstanding performance against Zimbabwe. Afghan opener Sediqullah Atal (104) and Abdul Malik (84) stitched a solid 191-run partnership to help the hosts post 286/6 in their 50 overs on the board.
Afghan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi also contributed an unbeaten 29 runs to the challenging total against Zimbabwe. In reply, Zimbabwe’s batting crumbled, managing only 54 runs, with just two players, Sean Williams (16) and Sikandar Raza (19*), reaching double digits.
Allah Ghazanfar and Naveed Zadran led the charge with three wickets each, while Fazalhaq Farooqi scalped two wickets to ensure Afghanistan’s biggest-ever ODI win by runs on Thursday.