Zimbabwe crush Afghanistan to end 24-year wait in Test cricket
Zimbabwe ended a long wait for a significant Test triumph with a dominant innings and 73-run win over Afghanistan at the Harare Sports Club, marking their first innings victory in the format since 2001. The emphatic result was built on a solid all-round performance, combining a composed batting display with relentless bowling over three days of play.
Batting first, the Chevrons laid a strong foundation with a total of 359 in their only innings. The backbone of the innings was opener Ben Curran, who played a patient and mature knock of 121, striking 15 boundaries in a 256-ball effort. He found good support from senior batter Sikandar Raza, who chipped in with 65, while Nick Welch narrowly missed a half-century with 49. Brendan Taylor made 32 and Brad Evans’s unbeaten 35 also contributed valuable lower-order runs to push the score beyond Afghanistan’s reach.
Afghanistan's batters failed to show resistance
Afghanistan, in reply, faltered from the outset. In their first innings, they were bowled out for just 127. Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s 37 and Abdul Malik’s 30 offered brief resistance, but the rest of the batting collapsed under disciplined bowling. Brad Evans starred with the ball, claiming 5 for 22, while Blessing Muzarabani added 3 for 47 to ensure Zimbabwe took a massive first-innings lead.
The third day saw the match wrapped up swiftly. Although Ibrahim Zadran’s 42 started positively for Afghanistan in their second innings, wickets began tumbling once left-arm seamer Richard Ngarava hit his stride. He finished with an outstanding 5 for 37, triggering another collapse that saw Afghanistan bowled out for 159. Muzarabani and Tanaka Chivanga shared five wickets between them to complete the rout.
Notably, Afghanistan lost nine wickets for just 116 runs on Day 3, underlining Zimbabwe’s dominance. This victory marks Zimbabwe’s third-ever win by an innings margin in Tests, and their first since defeating Bangladesh in Bulawayo over two decades ago. Under the calm leadership of Craig Ervine, the team delivered a performance that blended experience and youthful energy, a promising sign for the nation's red-ball revival.
Brief scores: Afghanistan 127 (Rahmanullah Gurbaz 37, Abdul Malik 30; Brad Evans 5-22, Blessing Muzarabani 3-47) & 159 (Ibrahim Zadran 42, Bahir Shah 32; Richard Ngarava 5-37, Blessing Muzarabani 4-38) lost to Zimbabwe 359 (Ben Curran 121, Sikandar Raza 65; Ziaur Rahman Sharifi 7-97) by an innings & 73 runs.
