SHARJAH: Zimbabwe strengthened their position in the opening Test against Afghanistan after posting an impressive 504 in their first innings, while Afghanistan reached 113 for 1 at stumps on Day 2 at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.
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Sediqullah Atal and Rahmanullah were unbeaten on 55 and 50 respectively, reducing Afghanistan’s deficit to 391 runs with nine wickets remaining.
Resuming the day at 326 for 5, Zimbabwe added 178 runs to their overnight total, with captain Brian Bennett producing an outstanding century on his Test captaincy debut.
Bennett, who began the day unbeaten on 71, went on to score 128 off 206 deliveries, including 11 boundaries. He shared a crucial 96-run partnership for the sixth wicket with Wessly Madhevere, who contributed 54 off 70 balls.
Bennett’s impressive innings eventually came to an end at 437 when he was dismissed by Qais Ahmad after mistiming a slog. His knock lasted 362 minutes and provided the foundation for Zimbabwe’s commanding first-innings total.
Zimbabwe’s lower order also made valuable contributions, with wicketkeeper Tafadzwa Tsiga scoring 44, while Graeme Cremer remained unbeaten on 34.
For Afghanistan, Qais Ahmad led the bowling attack with three wickets for 82 runs, while Mohammad Saleem also claimed three wickets.
In response, Afghanistan suffered an early setback when Abdul Malik was dismissed for just two runs by Newman Nyamhuri, leaving the visitors struggling at 14 for 1.
However, Sediqullah Atal and Rahmanullah steadied the innings with an impressive unbeaten partnership.
Atal completed his half-century from 101 deliveries, while debutant Rahmanullah reached the milestone in 78 balls.
The pair added an unbroken 99-run partnership for the second wicket, guiding Afghanistan to 113 for 1 at the close of play.
With nine wickets remaining, Afghanistan will look to build on the strong partnership and reduce Zimbabwe’s first-innings advantage when play resumes on Day 3.
