Zimbabwe ended Day 2 of the second test fixture on a dominating note against Afghanistan in Bulawayo on Friday (January 3). They secured a first-innings lead of 86 runs, before Afghanistan ended the day on 46/3.
After the first Test saw both teams firing on all cylinders with the bat, a similar performance in this game as well. However, things have been completely different in the first two days of the second Test, which has also been affected by rain.
Zimbabwe started Day 2 on 6/0 in response to Afghanistan’s 157-run total. On debut, the left-arm pacer Fareed Ahmad sent Joylord Gumbie (8) packing early. Soon, Yamin Ahmadzai dismissed Takudzwanashe Kaitano (0) by making him caught by the keeper Afsar Zazai.
The experienced left-hander Ben Curran played some delightful drives to infuse confidence into the batting side. However, Ahmad trapped Curran (15) LBW and reduced Zimbabwe to 36/3.
Ahmadzai used his height to extract bounce from the surface, as Dion Myers’ (5) expansive shot could only see him edging the ball to the keeper. Nevertheless, the veteran pair of Sikandar Raza and captain Craig Ervine proved that experience always comes in handy when the team is under pressure.
Raza was exceptional with his shot selections, as he sent the half-trackers to the boundary and also displaying his sound technique with a straight drive. At the Lunch session, Zimbabwe was at 94/4.
Zimbabwe gain first-innings lead; Bowlers follow-up with impressive show
Although Sikandar Raza looked confident with his strokeplay, Zia-ur-Rehman found the opening through his legs while the right-hander was trying to paddle-sweep the delivery. He was dismissed after playing a well-compiled knock of 61 off 104 balls.
Then, Rashid Khan induced an edge of Brian Bennett (2) to get him caught to the keeper. Although, Newman Nyamhuri looked confident with a couple of boundaries, Rashid breached his defense to dismiss him for 11.
At this juncture, Zimbabwe was at 147/7 and needed a strong partnership to secure a healthy first-innings lead. This is when Craig Ervine joined Sean Williams, who was already timing the ball well.
The duo took on all bowlers and accelerated the team’s run-rate. At the tea session, the hosts were at a good position with their total reading 210/7. The rain delay resulted in them losing the momentum, as Rashid bowled a peach of a delivery to get a tiny edge of Williams (49).
Captain Ervine slammed back-to-back sixes against Rashid, before getting dismissed by him soon. The southpaw emerged as the top contributor with a knock of 75 off 165, as Zimbabwe were bundled out for 243.
Trailing by 86, the visitors were already under pressure. Zimbabwe’s leading pacer Blessing Muzarabani extracted good bounce off the surface to unsettle Abdul Malik (1), who could only get holed out at mid-on. Soon, the tall pacer also dismissed Riaz Hassan with a beautiful delivery, which seamed away after pitching.
Thereafter, captain Hashmatullah Shahidi and Rahmat Shah were building a solid stand by accumulating odd boundaries. However, Sikandar Raza secured assistance from the surface to outfox Shahidi (13) with a ball that turned sharply.
After the end of Day 2, Afghanistan is at 46/3 and still trail by 40 runs. It will be interesting to see whether they can pose a strong challenge on Saturday and set up a strong target for the hosts.
