Zimbabwe – 586 all out in 135.2 overs (Sean Williams 154, Brian Bennett 110*, Craig Ervine 104; AM Ghazanfar 3/121, Zia-ur-Rehman 2/101, Naveed Zadran 2/109)
Afghanistan – 95-2 in 30 overs (Rahmat Shah 49*, Abdul Malik 23, Hasmatullah Shahidi 16*; Blessing Muzarabani 1/15, Trevor Gwandu 1/16)
Day 2 – Stumps: Afghanistan trail by 491 runs
It was a historic day for Zimbabwe as they recorded their highest-ever total in a Test match, amassing 586 all out against Afghanistan at Queens Sports Club on Friday.
This remarkable feat was powered by centuries from Sean Williams, Craig Ervine and Brian Bennett.
By the close of play, Afghanistan had replied with 95 for two wickets.
Zimbabwe began the day in a commanding position, with 363 runs on the board and only four wickets down.
The overnight batters, Williams (145) and Ervine (56), were looking to build on their solid foundation.
Williams soon reached the 150-run milestone and went on to surpass his previous highest Test score of 151 not out, also achieved against Afghanistan four seasons ago.
However, his innings ended at 154 when he attempted a pull against a bouncer from Naveed Zadran and was caught in the deep, having faced 174 deliveries, striking three sixes and 10 fours.
His partnership with Ervine had yielded 163 valuable runs, leaving Zimbabwe at 383 for five.
This marked Williams’ fourth century in his last six Test matches.
Bennett now joined Ervine at the crease, and the latter soon brought up his fourth Test century.
Unfortunately, Ervine departed shortly after, edging a cut off Zia-ur-Rehman to the keeper for 104.
His innings spanned 176 deliveries and included 10 boundaries.
Zimbabwe’s score stood at 465 for six and, without further addition, Brandon Mavuta was bowled for a second-ball duck.
Newman Nyamhuri now joined Bennett, and the pair took the score to 471 for seven at lunch, with Bennett on 46 and Nyamhuri on two.
After the break, Bennett reached his maiden Test fifty off 75 balls.
Nyamhuri, after a cautious start, contributed a brisk 26 before edging a catch to the keeper.
Despite the fall of wickets, Zimbabwe continued their onslaught.
Blessing Muzarabani scored a handy 19 in a 42-run partnership with Bennett, who was on 74 when Muzarabani departed.
Trevor Gwandu, the last man in, played a supporting role as Bennett launched a calculated assault.
On 96, Bennett smashed back-to-back sixes off Zadran to reach a superb century in style.
Gwandu was dismissed shortly afterward for three, attempting a big hit off AM Ghazanfar, bringing Zimbabwe’s innings to a close at 586.
This mammoth total surpassed Zimbabwe’s previous highest score of 563 for nine against the West Indies in Harare in 2001.
Bennett remained unbeaten on 110, scored off 124 balls with four sixes and five fours.
Afghanistan’s bowlers struggled, with Ghazanfar returning the best figures of three for 127.
Four bowlers conceded over 100 runs as Zimbabwe maintained a scoring rate of over four runs per over across the 135.2 overs.
Facing an uphill task, Afghanistan’s innings got off to a rocky start when Sediqullah Atal was bowled by Gwandu in the second over for three.
Abdul Malik adopted a cautious approach, while Rahmat Shah played more aggressively.
Malik began to open up but misjudged the bounce of a short ball from Muzarabani and was caught at fine leg by Ben Curran for 23, leaving Afghanistan at 64 for two.
Hashmatullah Shahidi, the captain, joined Shah, and the pair steadied the ship.
At stumps, Afghanistan were 95 for two, with Shah unbeaten on 49 and Shahidi on 16, as bad light brought an early end to the day’s play.
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