Ngarava and Curran lead Zim to huge win over Afghanistan

It took Zimbabwe’s cricket team less than three hours on the third day to claim their first home Test win since 2013, their first innings win since 2001 and their biggest Test win. Afghanistan (12th) is currently one place above Zimbabwe (13th) on the ICC men’s Test rankings.Zimbabwe had been in command right from Day 1, when Brad Evans' five for 22 set the tone as Afghanistan were bowled out for 127. Ben Curran, whose late father Kevin was a former coach of both Namibia and Zimbabwe, then scored a superb century (121) to lead Zimbabwe to 359. Curran was named player of the match.And then there was yesterday's Richard Ngarava show. His maiden Test five-wicket haul (5/37) was a superb display of skilful Test match bowling, aided by Blessing Muzarabani’s 3/48.The movement Ngarava generated through the air and off the pitch never looked exaggerated, but it was relentless enough to break the game open and leave Zimbabwe with a win by an innings and 73 runs against a listless Afghanistan batting unit.SatisfyingZimbabwe captain Craig Ervine said a win in their final Test match of the year was satisfying.“I'm ecstatic. A lot of credit to the boys for fighting and winning to end a tough year of Test cricket," Ervine said. "The way we started, in the first hour of day one, wasn't good, but the way the boys pulled things back was excellent. Then with the bat, Curran's innings – full of composure and discipline – was outstanding.“The wicket offered something throughout, so the boys did well to put on some good partnerships. The boys have learnt from the Test cricket they've played in the last six-seven months to find their game.”For Afghanistan, Ziaur Rahman Sharifi's dream debut spell, where he picked up seven wickets, will be what they take home from this game. Their Test match batting has been found really wanting, but for now, they'll move to more familiar environments with the T20 series that begins next week.Hashmatullah Shahidi, the Afghanistan captain, rued the batting collapse on the first day when Afghanistan slid from 77 for 1 to 127 all out."They played really good cricket, it was supporting the fast bowlers," Shahidi said. "The ball was seaming around, but overall, we didn't play good cricket. We started the Test well (at 77 for 1) in the first innings, but that collapse let us down. I feel the lack of our Test-playing experience cost us since we kept losing back-to-back wickets. In Test cricket, winning the first day is very important."The two teams now meet for the three-match T20I series starting October 29.– Adapted from Cricinfo

Ngarava and Curran lead Zim to huge win over Afghanistan

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Republikein 2026-03-19

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