ZIM vs AFG 2024/25, Zimbabwe vs Afghanistan 1st Test, Day 3, Bulawayo Match Report, 26 – 30 December 2024

Afghanistan 95 for 2 (Rahmat 49*) track Zimbabwe 586 (Bennett 110*, Ervine 104, Ghazanfar 3-127) by 491 runs

Williams set the tone early with a through point to pass 150. He looked to be aggressive against the leg side but mistimed a pull from Naveen Zadran to deep midwicket and added just nine to his overnight score before departing for 154 in the day sixth over. .

Bennett no. 7, playing only his second Test, looked busy on arrival. His early knock allowed Ervine, who started the night on 56, to get his eyes in and together they put on 82 in just 20.2 overs for the sixth wicket. Ervine showed his ease against spin to dominate the square of the wicket. He reached three figures with a flick towards backward square leg in the 109th over, took off his helmet and revealed a smile that carried a sense of satisfaction.

Left-arm spinner Zia-Ur-Rehman had Ervine bowl the keeper for 104 two overs later, followed by Brandon Mavuta’s dismissal for 0 in the same over, these two wickets provided no respite for the inexperienced Afghanistan bowling unit. The turn was predictable, the pacers ineffective, allowing Bennett and the lower order to score freely.

However, Muzarabani fell with Zimbabwe on 550 for 9, giving Azmatullah Omarzai a maiden Test wicket, and with only no. 11 to go, Bennett, at 82, shifted into fifth gear. A six off Zia-ur-Rehman through midwicket took him to 89 and back-to-back twos in the company of Trevor Gwandu took him closer to triple figures. His 96th run also took Zimbabwe to 564, a new high in their 32-year history in the format.

But that wasn’t enough for the audience. Only a Bennett century would make the innings perfect and it arrived in cinematic fashion in the 135th over. Zadran had set up a short ball trick with two sweeper fielders in the deep on the leg side, but Bennett went for the pull anyway. The fielder in the deep took the catch, only to find he had stepped into the boundary line, and Bennett roared “come on” in the direction of his family on the grass banks, which included his father and twin brother. He would hit six more next balls over the same region before Ghazanfar took his third wicket by removing Gwandu, leaving Bennett unbeaten on 110.

“(It’s) not only my first Test century but my first century for Zimbabwe, so it’s a great feeling,” Bennett said after today’s game. “Getting a Test match hundred at Queen’s (Sports Club) with my family watching Sean Williams and Craig Ervine also get hundreds and set a Test match record for Zimbabwe. I don’t think there’s any better feeling So yeah , I’m just very proud.

“At first when I saw it go I thought it was six, but when I saw it come down I thought, oh damn, I’m in trouble here,” he recalled of the drama. “But you know what? You make your own luck in cricket. And when it crossed the line there, I was actually at a loss for words.

“It wasn’t too much about me getting up to my hundred. It was more about us getting a big score and getting the Afghan guys out on the field for as long as possible. So credit to the tail-ends too. It did de. a good effort for me to get my hundred but I think we were six down too and with our tail we added 120 (121) runs.”

Afghanistan’s reply to 587 began in cloudy conditions after tea and Sediqullah Atal lost the battle for the debutants to Gwandu who tried to flick over the line in the second over. Gwandu got a ball to swing in and shape late to claim his first Test scalp. The seamer would bowl four overs before an injury while fielding ended his day early.

Muzarabani was metronomic from the other end, bowling in the channel around the stumps and challenging Abdul Malik’s bat on occasion. It required one of Rahmat Shah’s experience at no. 3 to get the runs flowing. His strong off-side play earned him four fours in as many overs bowled by Gwandu and Nyamhuri. Malik instead offered soft hands whenever possible, with his only boundary a gentle glance towards fine leg.

With the pitch still good for batting and the effects of the new ball wearing off, both batsmen milked Zimbabwe’s bowling but Ervine, wanting to make something happen, brought back Muzarabani and the idea worked. Malik, who had mostly been offering defensive shots, was offered a short ball by Muzarabani and the rising delivery forced the error, straight to Ben Curran at fine leg.

Hashmatullah Shahidi, as no. 4, battled the fading light to face some tricky overspin from Williams and part-timers Mavuta and Bennett. He hit three boundaries in 24 balls while Rahmat moved to 49 after surviving a catch at slip. Bad light stopped play three overs short, with Afghanistan 95 for 2, staring at a mammoth deficit of 491 runs.