Debutant Rahmanullah made 113 and Sediqullah Atal 105, sharing a 206-run second-wicket stand, as Afghanistan reached 402 for 7 on Day 3 of the first Test in Sharjah. Rahmat Shah is unbeaten on 94, and Zimbabwe’s 504 lead is down to 102.
Sharjah, UAE: Afghanistan came into Day 3 at 113 for 1, 391 runs behind Zimbabwe’s 504. They left the field at 402 for 7, with the first Test no longer slipping away. Two centuries from their top order, one of them on debut, did most of the repair work, and Rahmat Shah closed within six runs of a hundred of his own.
A debut hundred and a double act
Rahmanullah, who reached his maiden Test fifty off 78 balls on Friday, converted it into 113 off 188 balls before he was run out. Atal made 105 off 213 balls and was caught behind off Graeme Cremer. Together they added 206 for the second wicket, the stand that dragged Afghanistan back into the contest after a Zimbabwe innings built on Brendan Taylor’s 131 on Day 1 and Brian Bennett’s 128 on his captaincy debut, as our Day 2 report described.
Zimbabwe fight back, Rahmat holds firm
Zimbabwe did not give the day away. Newman Nyamhuri finished with 4 for 62 from 23 overs, including Shahidullah for a duck, and Cremer took the only other wickets. Afghanistan lost wickets between the big partnerships, but Rahmat steadied them. He added 65 for the sixth wicket with Ikram Alikhil, who made 40, then 55 for the seventh with Qais Ahmad, who fell for 27 late in the final session. Rahmat ended on 94 off 194 balls, and Zia-ur-Rehman has yet to face a ball.
What Day 4 holds
Afghanistan are safe from the follow-on and trail by 102 with three wickets left. Rahmat’s hundred is the first target for Sunday morning, and the tail will decide whether the deficit shrinks to a handful or disappears.
Close of play, Day 3: Zimbabwe 504 (first innings). Afghanistan 402/7 in 125 overs (Rahmanullah 113, Sediqullah Atal 105, Rahmat Shah 94*, Ikram Alikhil 40; Newman Nyamhuri 4/62). Afghanistan trail by 102 runs.
