Young Afghan spinner Allah Ghazanfar delivered a spectacular performance in the third and final ODI against Zimbabwe at the Harare Sports Club on Saturday, December 21. Ghazanfar showed his skills once again, taking a five-wicket haul to help Afghanistan bowl out Zimbabwe for just 127 ins. 30.1 overs in the ongoing ODI final in Harare.
The enigmatic 18-year-old made an immediate impact in the ongoing ODIs, dismissing Zimbabwean opener Joylord Gumbie for just 3 runs. He continued his excellent spell by sending Ben Curran back for 12 runs and then taking the wickets of Tadiwanashe Marumani and Wellington Masakzada in consecutive deliveries in Harare.
Allah Ghazanfar claims a historic five-wicket haul in the third ODI
Allah Ghazanfar completed his five-wicket haul by getting rid of Newman Nyamhuri, finishing with remarkable figures of 5/33 in his 10 overs and helping Afghanistan restrict hosts Zimbabwe to just 127 in 30.1 overs in the third Saturday's ODI. The tourists won the game by 8 wickets to win the ODI series in Zimbabwe.
With his outstanding performance against Zimbabwe, the young Afghan sensation has written history in ODI cricket. Allah Ghazanfar became one of the few bowlers to take multiple five-wicket hauls in ODIs before turning 19.
This record adds to his growing reputation following his previous feat in November when, at the age of 18 years and 231 days, he became the fifth youngest player to claim a five-wicket haul against Bangladesh.
The young spinner took 6 wickets for just 26 runs against Bangladesh and helped Afghanistan secure a 92-run win in that ODI match. With his remarkable spell in Harare, Ghazanfar became only the third player after Waqar Younis and Rashid Khan to achieve this feat.
Afghanistan's Allah Ghazanfar joins Waqar Younis and Rashid Khan in the elite club
Waqar Younis and Rashid Khan are the only players to have achieved more five-wicket innings in ODI cricket before turning 19. Overall, only seven players in history have taken a five-wicket haul in ODIs before reaching 19, with Afghanistan's Ghazanfar and Mujeeb Ur Rahman in the elite group.
The others who have taken five ODI wickets as teenagers are Gulshan Jha, Wasim Akram, Aftab Ahmed, Taskin Ahmed, Aaqib Javed, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Sandeep Lamichhane, Mustafizur Rahman, Abdul Razzaq, Shariz Ahmed and Saqlain Mush.
Notably, Ghazanfar and Rashid both have two five-wicket innings, while Waqar has taken five five-wicket innings before turning 19 in ODI cricket. Ghazanfar also has the best bowling average of 13.57 among all players who have taken at least 20 ODI wickets before turning 19. He now has 21 wickets in 11 ODIs so far.
Allah Ghazanfar is all set to play for Mumbai Indians in IPL 2025
He is closely followed by Rashid Khan, who averages 14.74, with both bowlers the only ones to average under 15. In addition, the young spinner holds the highest strike rate of 20, with Rashid coming in second again with a strike rate of 22.2 before turning 19.
Notably, the 18-year-old spin sensation recently made headlines after securing a ₹4.8 crore contract in the IPL 2025 mega auction. Despite strong efforts by IPL 2024 champions Kolkata Knight Riders to retain him Allah, Mumbai Indians emerged victorious in securing young talent from Afghanistan at the auction.