Mohammad Nabi's 40 off 27 balls made quick work of the 121-target set by Zimbabwe, helping Afghanistan’s National Cricket Team to take a 1-0 lead in the two-match T20I series in Sharjah on Monday night.

Zimbabwe scored 120/9 in 20 overs at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. Afghanistan scored 121/5 in 14.4 overs, chasing 120 for victory.

Earlier, Rashid Khan claimed three wickets while Sharafuddin Ashraf took two as Afghanistan restricted Zimbabwe to 120/9 after the “hosts” won the toss and opted to field.

Wicketkeeper Mohammad Shahzad, who returned after serving a ban for a doping code violation, gave Afghanistan's chase a flying start after his partner Karim Sadiq went out for five.

Shahzad top edged a four and smacked two big sixes in his 11-ball stay of 20 before bottom edging one to the keeper.

The two teams will play one more T20 on Tuesday before taking on each other in five One-Day Internationals (ODIs) from February 9 to 19.

All the matches will be played at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.