Zimbabwe 142 for 4 (Curran 41, Williams 35*, Zahir 2-43) and 586 (Williams 154, Bennett 110*, Ervine 104, Ghazanfar 3-127) tied with Afghanistan 699 (Shahidi 246, Rahmat 234, Zazai 113, Bennett 5-95)
On the fifth ball of 193, Shahid crossed the stumps to try and sweep the turn but was hit in front. On the next ball, Azmatullah Omarzai skidded one towards Bennett, who took a hat-trick. Bennett bowled the hat-trick ball to Shahidullah to start the 195th over, but the batsman took it to deep point.
But Williams trapped Zia-ur-Rehman for 5 in the next over, when substitute fielder Tadiwanashe Marumani took a fine catch while running forward from long distance. AM Ghazanfar then beat Bennett for six, only for Bennett to score a hat-trick again. Ghazanfar bowled one towards length, while Naveed Zadran bottomed towards the stumps. But Bennett was denied again as Zahir Khan blocked one safely. However, on the next ball, Bennett completed his five when he trapped Zahir to conclude Afghanistan’s innings.
Zimbabwe’s second innings began in the afternoon session, when there was still enough time for a surprise result. Perhaps seeing Zimbabwe’s spinners getting help from the surface, Afghanistan asked Ghazanfar to share the new ball with Naveed Zadran. But Ben Curran led Zimbabwe’s counter-punch as they managed 32 runs in the first five overs.
That included four borders, including three opposite Ghazanfar. Curran sliced, swept and spun the spinner for four apiece, even as Joylord Gumbie also hit a boundary in a much more patient start. Naveen, Zia-ur-Rehman, Omarzai and Zahir Khan stopped Zimbabwe’s momentum thereafter, although Zimbabwe still ran out of tea wickets.
However, Zia and Zahir found their turn, and after multiple lbw appeals against Gumbie were rejected, Zahir finally made Gumbie escape. A length ball around the sixth stump hinted at turning inside, and Gumbie pushed forward only to gain an outside edge. The initial partnership of 73 was broken, but just one ball later the players retired due to rain.
The pause lasted almost 40 minutes, but that did not affect Afghanistan. On the third ball of the resumption, Curran was run out for 41 when he hit Zia towards mid-wicket and set up for a single. But teammate Takudzwanashe Kaitano appeared to have parried the single too late, and Shahidullah’s shot found Curran short at the keeper’s end.
Kaitano then looked to bowl to Zahir, who was bowling from around the wicket. The ball landed full length at mid-on and did not appear to spin as Kaitano missed his attempted sweep, for which the length looked too full. But the most aesthetically pleasing dismissal came when Ghazanfar cleaned up Dion Myers in the 25th over.
He got one in and bowled it fully through middle and outside off to draw the batsman forward. Myers looked to defend the line of the ball, but turned to dislodge the off-stump. Zimbabwe were 88 for 4 at that stage, and were still behind Afghanistan, who smelled a miracle. But the experienced Williams and Ervine put their side to safety adding 54 in less than ten overs.
They took Zimbabwe past Afghanistan at the start of the 30th over, when Ervine drilled Zahir through the covers and the batsmen ran for four. The Afghan spinners had plenty of footprints to work with but were unable to attack further as the match ended in a draw and the two-match series remained deadlocked at 0-0.
Himanshu Agrawal is Deputy Editor of ESPNcricinfo
