Watch cricket video highlights of Afghanistan tour of Zimbabwe 2024. 1st Test between Afghanistan and Zimbabwe. Venue of the match will be Bulawayo.
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With Zimbabwe making history against Afghanistan by reaching their highest Test score ever, Bulawayo was a hive of activity on the second day of the Boxing Day Test as the home crowd celebrated one milestone after another. Craig Ervine, the skipper, recorded his third Test century in a 13-year career, overnight centurion Sean Williams posted his personal best, and Brian Bennett made a spectacular debut hundred to lead Zimbabwe to 586. Williams’ breakthrough point to surpass 150 set the tone early.
He appeared to be aggressive to the leg side, but in the sixth over of the day, he left for 154 after mistiming a pull off Naveen Zadran to deep midwicket, adding just nine to his overnight total. The seventh When he arrived, Bennett, who was just playing his second Test, appeared busy. Ervine, who began the night at 56, was able to get his eyes in thanks to his early strokes, and the two of them put on 82 in just 20.2 overs for the sixth wicket. Ervine dominated the square of the wicket by showcasing his comfort against spin.
In the 109th over, he flicked towards backward square leg to achieve triple digits. He removed his helmet and flashed a satisfied smile. Ervine was hit for 104 by left-arm spinner Zia-Ur-Rehman two overs later, and Brandon Mavuta was dismissed for 0 in the same over. The inexperienced Afghanistan bowling team was not relieved by the two wickets. Bennett and the lower-order were able to score easily since the turn was predictable and the pacers were ineffectual.
Bennett peppered boundaries through the covers, albeit a few streaky ones, and it was evident after lunch that the other batsmen would play well as well. Newman Nyamhuri, a teenage rookie who is well-known on the domestic circuit for his left-arm seam bowling, shown that he can also contribute with the bat. He hit a huge six down the ground to raise Zimbabwe’s 500 before being out on 26 to Zahir Khan. It put an end to Zimbabwe’s 21-year wait to surpass that milestone in Test matches.
Bennett and Blessing Muzarabani (19) both crunched sixes off AM Ghazanfar’s high-pitched deliveries, so his mysterious spin also had no effect. Errors began to creep into the Afghan fielding effort as Zimbabwe surged near their previous greatest total of 563 for 9, which they had reached against the West Indies in 2001. Singles were converted to doubles by fumbles and misfields, while Muzarabani also escaped a missed opportunity at deep midwicket.
But with just the No. 11 left, Bennett, on 82, went into fifth gear after Muzarabani dropped with Zimbabwe at 550 for 9, giving Azmatullah Omarzai his first Test wicket. He reached 89 with a six from Zia-ur-Rehman past midwicket, and he approached triple digits with consecutive twos in Trevor Gwandu’s company. In addition, his 96th run helped Zimbabwe reach 564, a record in the format’s 32-year existence. However, the mob did not find that sufficient. The innings would only be complete with a century from Bennett, which came in spectacular fashion in the 135th over.
Bennett opted for the draw even though Zadran had set up a short-ball tactic with two sweeper fielders in the deep on the leg side. When Bennett saw that the fielder in the deep had crossed the boundary line after making the catch, he yelled “come on” toward his father and twin brother, who were on the grass banks. Before Ghazanfar took his third wicket by dismissing Gwandu, Bennett would pin another six over the same area, leaving him undefeated at 110.
Sediqullah Atal lost the battle of the debutants to Gwandu as he attempted to flip across the line in the second over of Afghanistan’s reply to 587, which started in cloudy circumstances following tea. For his first Test wicket, Gwandu got a ball to swing in and shape away late. Fielding’s day would finish early due to an injury, while the seamer would bowl four overs before suffering one. From the other end, Muzarabani was metronic, bowling in the channel around off stump and sometimes challenging Abdul Malik’s bat.
Rahmat Shah’s expertise at number three was necessary to get the runs going. In as many overs as Gwandu and Nyamhuri bowled him, he scored four fours thanks to his excellent off-side play. Instead, Malik gave kind hands wherever he could, using simply a delicate gaze in the direction of a nice leg as his limit. Both batsmen exploited Zimbabwe’s bowling since the surface was still suitable for batting and the affects of the new ball were wearing off, but Ervine summoned Muzarabani back in an attempt to make things happen, and the plan succeeded.
Muzarabani threw a short ball to Malik, who had primarily offered defensive shots, and the rising delivery forced the mistake, going straight to Ben Curran at fine leg. At No. 4, Hashmatullah Shahidi fought against the waning light to take on some challenging spin overs from Williams and part-time batsmen Bennett and Mavuta. After surviving one catching opportunity at slip, Rahmat advanced to 49, while he hit three boundaries in 24 balls. Afghanistan was on 95 for 2 and facing a massive 491-run deficit when play was suspended three overs from the end due to bad light.
