Afghanistan 157 and 46 for 3 (Rahmat 18*, Muzarabani 2-17) trailed Zimbabwe 243 (Ervine 75, Raza 61, Williams 49, Rashid 4-94) by 40 runs. Zimbabwe and Afghanistan battled for the lead on a day of fast-paced Test cricket in Bulawayo, with the hosts only slightly ahead.
283 runs were scored and 13 wickets fell on the second day as the momentum swung between the two teams, leaving the Test delicately poised.
Resuming from 6 for 0 after dismissing Afghanistan for 157 on a rain-hit first day, Zimbabwe were in trouble early on thanks to a top-order collapse. But half-centuries from Craig Ervine and Sikandar Raza and an equally valuable knock from an injured Sean Williams allowed Zimbabwe to take an 86-run lead, significant given the difficult nature of the pitch.
Zimbabwe then removed three Afghan batsmen, with Blessing Muzarabani scoring two, to end the day with a 40-run lead, while Afghanistan had only seven wickets in hand to try and set a challenging target.
There was enough field for the bowlers in the morning and Zimbabwe started by showing a lot of discipline. But Joylord Gumbie’s patience did not last long as he edged past Fareed Ahmad while Abdul Malik took a good low catch at second slip.
Yamin Ahmadzai then had Takudzwanashe Kaitano strangled down the leg side to get two wickets in two overs. Just as Ben Curran started to gather momentum with a couple of boundaries from both Afghanistan quicks, Fareed trapped him with an in-ducker front, with Curran playing on the wrong line.
Afghanistan put immediate pressure on Zimbabwe’s number five Dion Myers, who was promoted as Williams was nursing a back injury from Thursday. With a mid-on reception in place, Myers opted to hit to get out of trouble. He threw Ahmadzai downfield for a boundary, but cut away trying to cut a short and wide to leave Afghanistan on 41 for 4.
It could have been five down on the next ball when Fareed drew the outside edge from Raza, who was on seven, only to see a regulation catch fall at first slip. Riaz Hassan’s drop proved costly. Raza started with consecutive boundaries from Ahmadzai: an elegant on-drive followed by a cut point.
Raza and Ervine soon added fifties for the fourth wicket, relying mainly on singles, while Raza came up with the occasional boundary. Raza, playing his first Test since 2021, brought home his fifty by driving Rashid through covers for two in the second over after lunch.
In the next over, Raza had another stroke of luck when he mistimed a left-footed shot from deep square leg, but Ismat Alam let the ball slip through his hands, much to Fareed’s frustration for the second time on the day.
However, Raza only managed to add another eight points to his total as a tactical change worked wonders for Afghanistan. Hashmatullah Shahidi took Zia-ur-Rahman to the attack to give Rashid a change of ends, and Raza ended up missing a sweep on the first ball he faced against the left-arm spinner.
Rashid looked even sharper at the other end, and soon had Brian Bennett caught behind off the inside edge with an error. It worked again for Rashid when he felled Newman Nyamhuri.
Zimbabwe were still 10 runs behind Afghanistan’s first innings total and Williams, coming out to bat at No 9, and Ervine pulled Rashid and Ahmadzai respectively for two boundaries in the next two overs to put Zimbabwe ahead.
With Williams struggling with his back, Ahmadzai targeted him with short balls and almost created a catch-and-throw opportunity in the 52nd over, but the ball fell short. One ball later, Williams took another short ball and crashed it through midwicket, but it also fell on a knee that held his back.
Williams then decided to go on the attack, lifting Rashid past mid-on before driving Ahmadzai past mid-off twice in an over. In Ahmadzai’s next over, Williams battered him for consecutive boundaries.
Ervine, who was happy to play second fiddle at the other end, reached his half-century in the last over before tea. Zimbabwe started positively in the final session, with Williams hitting Zia over mid-off for his fourth boundary in the second over after tea.
But in the next over, Rashid got a mistake to turn away as Williams tried to turn it on the leg-side. There was hardly any audible noise but Rashid Khan was strong in his appeal to caught behind. The umpire, however, was unconvinced but Williams, batting on 49, came back.
‘Obviously the medical staff worked very hard to get him on the field today, they did a magnificent job there, and we will have to continue to do that,‘ Zimbabwe coach Justin Sammons said after the day’s game about Williams’ back problem.
‘It’s going to be tough, he’s in a lot of pain, but he’s shown tremendous courage to go out there and he’s shown what he’s capable of and what playing for Zimbabwe means to him. You can see that in the way he goes about his business.
‘I can’t look too far, obviously we take it one step at a time with him. We will just try to put him in the best possible physical condition as we move forward in this Test.’
A spell of rain forced the players off the field briefly. Ervine tried to strike once play resumed, but Ngarava got his captain to take a single off the second ball of the 71st over, but was felled by an Ahmadzai length ball that stayed low.
Ervine caught Rashid in the next over, first going down the pitch to lift him to the ground and then dropping him over square leg for six in a row.
However, another sweep attempt in Rashid’s next over saw Ervine hole in a deep back square, ending a hard-fought and important innings on 75 and sealing an 86-run first innings lead for the hosts.
Afghanistan’s second innings got off to a hectic start. Abdul Malik flashed in a full delivery and took it to the gully where Curran dropped it, before a vehement appeal for the ‘shot behind’ was turned down when Ngarava got one to pass close to Malik’s outside edge.
In the next over, Blessing Muzarabani got a leading edge from Malik, with the ball skipping to mid-on. Zimbabwe held their ground and in the eighth over, Muzarabani struck again when he advanced Hassan Riaz to take him to 18 for 2.
Shahidi and Rahmat Shah, double centurions in the last game, then tried to keep the bowlers at bay, but Raza gave Zimbabwe a late boost with a fine offbreak that drifted over to bowl to middle before spinning over the outside edge and crashing into the off stump, removing the Afghanistan captain in the penultimate over of the day.
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