Blessing Muzarabani’s Career-Best Bowling and Rashid Khan’s 6 Wickets Put Afghanistan on Course for Victory in Second Test at Bulawayo
Ismat Alam, who had a disappointing debut innings in his first Test match, made history with a stunning century. As Afghanistan’s first-ever batsman to score a century in his debut Test, Ismat played a key role along with Rahmat Shah, both of whom reached three figures and provided Afghanistan with a solid foundation. Meanwhile, Rashid Khan lit up the game with the ball, taking 6 wickets and putting Afghanistan on the path to victory in the second Test in Bulawayo.
After the fourth day’s play at Queen’s Sports Club on Sunday, Zimbabwe’s score stood at 205 for 8. They need another 73 runs to win, while Afghanistan requires just two wickets to seal the series.
Zimbabwe’s hopes lie with Craig Ervine, who remains at the crease, playing solidly for 53 off 97 balls with four boundaries and a six. He will need to face Rashid Khan, who has been magical, having taken five wickets in the match already. Rashid’s 6 wickets for 66 runs have put Afghanistan in a strong position.
In a remarkable achievement, Ismat Alam became only the fifth player in Test history to experience both a duck and a century in his debut match. The ninth batsman in history to score a century on Test debut while batting at number 8, Ismat hit 9 fours off 181 balls to score 101 runs.
Despite his career-best performance, Blessing Muzarabani, who took 6 wickets for 95 runs and prevented Afghanistan from reaching 300 runs, saw his efforts overshadowed by the visitors’ dominant performances.
Afghanistan started day four with 291 for 7, and Ismat, in an aggressive batting partnership with Rashid, helped take the score to over 300. Ismat’s historic century ensured his place in the record books as Afghanistan’s first-ever batsman to achieve such a feat in a debut Test. However, he was dismissed by Muzarabani after trying to pull the ball for a catch. A little later, Yamin was dismissed, and Afghanistan’s second innings ended at 363.
Zimbabwe’s chase of 278 runs hit a rough patch with excellent bowling by Rashid and Zia-ur-Rehman.
The first four Zimbabwean batsmen got off to good starts, but none could convert their innings into big scores. Zia removed the opening pair, and Rashid followed with dismissals of Ben Curran and Sikandar Raza.
Rashid completed his five-wicket haul by dismissing Takudzwanashe Kaitano, Dion Myers, and Sean Williams, and then sent Brian Bennett back to the pavilion for a duck. Zia also picked up a key wicket, dismissing Newman Nyamhuri.
After losing several key wickets, Ervine fought back, but with the game still out of reach, he needed assistance from Muzarabani to pull off an unlikely victory. However, Rashid’s exceptional bowling made the task far from easy.
Ismat Alam’s historic century as Afghanistan’s first Test debutant to achieve the feat is a significant milestone in the game.
Summary of Scores:
Afghanistan 1st Innings: 157
Zimbabwe 1st Innings: 243
Afghanistan 2nd Innings: 363 (Ismat 101, Rashid 23, Yamin 19, Farid 2*; Ngarava 3/76, Muzarabani 6/95, Nyamhuri 0, Raja 1/79, Bennett 0)
Zimbabwe 2nd Innings: 205/8 (Ervine 53*, Gambi 15, Karani 38, Kaitano 21, Raza 38, Myers 6, Williams 16, Bennett 0, Nyamhuri 0, Ngarava 3*; Yamin 0, Farid 0, Zia 2/44, Rashid 6/66, Malik 0)
