Afghanistan vs Zimbabwe, 1st Test: 12 key moments, ball by ball

Match Drawn in 1st Test of Afghanistan vs Zimbabwe in UAE. Here is how the match turned, ball by ball: the overs that changed it, the wickets that mattered and the numbers behind the result.

Key moments, ball by ball

1. ZIM Over 57.4 — Brendan Taylor brings up a hundred off 135 balls
2. ZIM Over 86 — 12 runs came off the over, bowled by Qais Ahmad: 0 4 4 4 0 0
3. ZIM Over 103.1 — Brian Bennett brings up a hundred off 178 balls
4. ZIM Over 104 — 12 runs came off the over, bowled by Ziaur Rahman Sharifi: 4 0 1 1 2 4
5. AFG Over 60.5 — Rahmanullah Zadran brings up a hundred off 156 balls
6. AFG Over 61.1 — Sediqullah Atal brings up a hundred off 197 balls
7. AFG Over 112 — 10 runs came off the over, bowled by Graeme Cremer: 0 0 4 1 1 4
8. AFG Over 126.5 — Rahmat Shah brings up a hundred off 205 balls
9. AFG Over 169.4 — Newman Nyamhuri completes a 5-wicket haul
10. ZIM Over 83.4 — Craig Ervine brings up a hundred off 161 balls
11. ZIM Over 93 — 17 runs came off the over, bowled by Abdul Malik: 6 4 6 0 1 0
12. ZIM Over 122.1 — Wesley Madhevere brings up a hundred off 108 balls

How the runs came

Zimbabwe were 257 after 67 overs and finished on 504/10. Afghanistan were 275 after 85 overs and finished on 514/10.

Zimbabwe innings: over by over

Zimbabwe faced 522 dot balls (65%), hit 53 fours and 5 sixes, and got 11 extras. The best stand was 137 off 200 balls between Brendan Taylor & Brian Bennett.

Fall of wickets: 60-1 (Innocent Kaia, 16.4), 125-2 (Ben Curran, 34.5), 262-3 (Brendan Taylor, 68.1), 271-4 (Craig Ervine, 73.3), 287-5 (Antum Naqvi, 79.1), 383-6 (Wesley Madhevere, 101.2), 437-7 (Brian Bennett, 116.1), 472-8 (Tafadzwa Tsiga, 124.1), 498-9 (Newman Nyamhuri, 132.1), 504-10 (Blessing Muzarabani, 134.3)

Afghanistan innings: over by over

Afghanistan faced 733 dot balls (72%), hit 46 fours and 9 sixes, and got 17 extras. The best stand was 206 off 363 balls between Sediqullah Atal & Rahmanullah Zadran.

Fall of wickets: 14-1 (Abdul Malik, 5.2), 220-2 (Sediqullah Atal, 65.5), 251-3 (Rahmanullah Zadran, 75.2), 275-4 (Hashmatullah Shahidi, 82.2), 275-5 (Shahidullah Kamal, 84.2), 340-6 (Ikram Alikhil, 107.6), 395-7 (Qais Ahmad, 122.6), 487-8 (Zia ur Rehman Akbar, 162.3), 502-9 (Rahmat Shah, 168.2), 514-10 (Mohammad Saleem Safi, 169.4)

Zimbabwe innings: over by over

Zimbabwe faced 443 dot balls (60%), hit 45 fours and 7 sixes, and got 3 extras. The best stand was 208 off 225 balls between Craig Ervine & Wesley Madhevere (unbroken).

Fall of wickets: 7-1 (Innocent Kaia, 3.4), 38-2 (Ben Curran, 11.4), 120-3 (Brendan Taylor, 26.3), 175-4 (Brian Bennett, 42.3), 315-5 (Antum Naqvi, 84.4)

Our view

The first Test between Afghanistan and Zimbabwe ended in a draw after both sides produced impressive batting performances. Zimbabwe posted 504 in their first innings, with Brendan Taylor scoring 131 and Brian Bennett reaching a century. Afghanistan responded with 514, led by Rahmat Shah’s outstanding 173 and centuries from Rahmanullah Zadran and Sediqullah Atal. Newman Nyamhuri stood out with a five-wicket haul for Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe showed even greater resilience in their second innings, as Craig Ervine smashed an unbeaten 206 and Wesley Madhevere contributed a century to keep Afghanistan’s bowlers at bay. With big hundreds on both sides and no sustained breakthrough in the final innings, neither team could force a result. In our view, this was a Test defined by patience, partnerships and top-quality batting, with a draw being a fair outcome.

Top performers

• Craig Ervine — 206 (279 balls)
• Rahmat Shah — 173 (347 balls)
• Brendan Taylor — 131 (168 balls)
• Newman Nyamhuri — 5/82 (30.4 ov)
• Mohammad Saleem Safi — 3/82 (27.3 ov)
• Qais Ahmad — 3/120 (27 ov)

Full scorecard and ball-by-ball commentary: Afghanistan vs Zimbabwe