Brendan Taylor’s golden run in Sharjah continued on Day 2 of the second and final Test, as the 40-year-old completed his second hundred of the series and debutant spinner Naseer Khan Maroofkhil claimed a seven-wicket haul to bowl Zimbabwe out for 339 against Afghanistan.
Taylor resumed on 96 overnight, with Zimbabwe on 250 for 5, and wasted little time reaching three figures in the opening minutes of the day. He eventually fell for 119 from 217 balls, with 14 fours and a six, leg-before to Maroofkhil while attempting a reverse sweep — a dismissal that also gave the debutant his five-wicket haul.
It was Taylor’s eighth Test hundred and his third successive score of 80 or more in the series, after 131 and 82 in the first Test. In the process he became the first Zimbabwe batter to score multiple Test hundreds after turning 40, and he passed 10,000 first-class runs during the innings. His 2,752 Test runs have come at an average of 38.76, and only Andy Flower, with 12, has more Test hundreds for Zimbabwe. Taylor also shared a 102-run second-wicket stand with Innocent Kaia, who made 96 on Day 1.
Maroofkhil was the story of the day with the ball. The debutant spinner bowled 44 overs, 12 of them maidens, and finished with 7 for 151 — the pick of the Afghanistan attack by a distance. He had five wickets for 134 at lunch and kept chipping away as Zimbabwe’s lower order folded, with the last four wickets adding only 50 runs after Taylor’s departure.
Zimbabwe’s innings had wobbled badly on Day 1, when they slipped from 200 for 1 to 247 for 5 after tea as Maroofkhil struck repeatedly, removing Kaia for 96 and captain Brian Bennett for a duck among his victims. That Taylor was still there at stumps, unbeaten on 96, was the difference between a competitive total and a collapse.
Zimbabwe’s 339, made in 114.5 overs, gives them a strong position in the decider after the first Test ended in a draw. Afghanistan’s reply began shakily, and the hosts were 37 for 2 at the time of writing, still trailing by 302 runs, with Zimbabwe’s bowlers sensing an early opening.
Afghanistan will need a long, disciplined batting effort on Day 3 to stay in the contest. Taylor, meanwhile, has now scored 364 runs in four innings against Afghanistan in this series at an average of 91, and Zimbabwe will feel the veteran has given them the platform to push for a series win.
Related:
Taylor And Kaia Hit 96 Each As Zimbabwe Reach 250 For 5 On Day One Of Sharjah Decider
Taylor’s 82 And Bennett’s Unbeaten 49 Put Zimbabwe 154 Ahead As Sharjah Test Drifts Towards A Draw
