Craig Ervine’s unbeaten 206 and Wessly Madhevere’s 100 carried Zimbabwe to 523 for 5 on the final day in Sharjah, and the first Test against Afghanistan ended in a draw. Zimbabwe became the first side to score 500 in both innings of a Test.
Sharjah, UAE: Zimbabwe began the final day 154 runs ahead with seven wickets in hand and finished it at 523 for 5, a lead of 513 that left no time for a result. The captains shook hands in the final session, and a Test that had produced seven centuries was drawn, with the two-match series still level.
Bennett and Naqvi build the platform
Zimbabwe resumed on 164 for 3, still in touch with an Afghanistan first innings of 514 that had given the hosts a 10-run lead, as Rahmanullah and Sediqullah Atal had laid the foundation on Day 3. Captain Brian Bennett, who had made 128 in the first innings after his captaincy-debut hundred, added a half-century before Mohammad Saleem bowled him. Debutant Antum Naqvi then joined Craig Ervine and made 61, and the pair put on 140 before Abdul Malik removed Naqvi.
Ervine goes past 200
That was Zimbabwe’s fifth wicket and the last Afghanistan took. Ervine kept batting. He finished unbeaten on 206, with 22 fours and two sixes, his maiden Test double hundred, reached at the age of 41 years and 82 days.
Madhevere joins the record
Wessly Madhevere came in at No. 7 and finished on 100 not out. He and Ervine added an unbeaten 208 for the sixth wicket, and their stand took Zimbabwe to 523 for 5. Together with the 504 that Brendan Taylor’s 131 on Day 1 had set up, it made Zimbabwe the first team to pass 500 in both innings of a Test.
Series still level
Afghanistan’s 514 had been built on centuries from Rahmat Shah (173), Rahmanullah (113) and Atal (105), with Newman Nyamhuri taking 5 for 82 for Zimbabwe. Nobody got a result out of it. The second and final Test starts at the same ground on 13 November and runs to 17 November.
Result: Match drawn. Zimbabwe 504 (Brendan Taylor 131, Brian Bennett 128) and 523/5 (Craig Ervine 206*, Wessly Madhevere 100*, Antum Naqvi 61). Afghanistan 514 (Rahmat Shah 173, Rahmanullah 113, Sediqullah Atal 105; Newman Nyamhuri 5/82). Two-match series level; second Test, Sharjah, 13–17 November.
