Afghanistan vs Zimbabwe 1st Test: Zimbabwe 504, Atal And Zadran Reply

Zimbabwe were bowled out for 504 on day two of the Afghanistan vs Zimbabwe 1st Test in Sharjah, and Afghanistan closed on 113 for 1. Zimbabwe resumed on 326 for 5. Their last five wickets added 178. Afghanistan trail by 391 with nine first-innings wickets in hand.

Brian Bennett held the innings together. The captain made 128 from 206 balls with 11 fours. It is his first Test in charge of Zimbabwe.

Bennett's first Test in charge

Zimbabwe named Bennett captain for this two-Test series, a decision the ICC and CricTracker both reported before the tour began. Graeme Cremer returned to the side in the same squad. Antum Naqvi was cleared to play and bowled five overs on the second evening.

The Sports Encounter reported that 57 of Bennett's 128 came on the second day. He batted into the afternoon alongside the lower order.

Zimbabwe's last five wickets add 178

Brendan Taylor had set the total up on day one with 131 from 168 balls, an innings containing 14 fours and four sixes. The Herald in Harare reported it as his seventh Test century. Wessly Madhevere made 54 from 70 balls. Tafadzwa Tsiga added 44 and Cremer finished unbeaten on 34.

• Brendan Taylor 131 from 168 balls
• Brian Bennett 128 from 206 balls
• Wessly Madhevere 54 from 70 balls
• Tafadzwa Tsiga 44
• Graeme Cremer 34 not out

Afghanistan needed 134.3 overs to take the ten wickets. Mohammad Saleem and Qais Ahmad took three apiece. Hashmatullah Shahidi, the batter, was among the bowlers used. The attack went through more than a day and a half in the field.

Atal and Zadran survive 35 overs

Afghanistan lost Abdul Malik for 2, caught by Tsiga off Newman Nyamhuri inside the first hour of the reply. Nothing else went Zimbabwe's way before stumps. Sediqullah Atal reached 55 not out from 114 balls with three fours and two sixes. Rahmanullah Zadran finished on 50 not out from 83 balls with seven fours, on Test debut.

Thirty-five overs were bowled at Afghanistan. They cost 113 runs for the single wicket. Nyamhuri was the only bowler to take one.

The Test-status argument in Sharjah

Neither side is among the nine teams in the World Test Championship. ESPNcricinfo framed its preview of this series around a WTC place being on the horizon for both, with proposals to widen the competition under discussion at board level. Results in fixtures such as this one are the evidence each board has to point at.

The second Test starts in the United Arab Emirates on 13 November. Three days remain in this one. Zimbabwe need nine wickets. They have a first-innings cushion of 391 to work with.