Afghanistan’s batters produced a day of stubborn resistance in Sharjah on Saturday, with centuries from Sediqullah Atal and debutant Rahmanullah Zadran carrying the hosts to 402 for seven at stumps on the third day of the first Test against Zimbabwe.
Resuming on 113 for one in reply to Zimbabwe’s 504, Atal and Rahmanullah batted through the morning without further loss. By lunch both men were unbeaten on 103, and the pair went on to add 206 runs for the second wicket — Afghanistan’s highest-ever second-wicket partnership in Test cricket, built on an overnight stand of 99.
Rahmanullah was first to three figures, reaching his century from 156 balls with 12 fours and a six. His 113 from 188 balls is the highest score by an Afghanistan batter on Test debut, and he is only the second Afghan to score a hundred on debut, after Ismat Alam’s 101 against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo last year. His innings ended in unfortunate fashion, run out while stealing a quick single.
Atal followed him to the milestone soon after, bringing up his hundred from 197 balls. The opener made 105 from 213 deliveries, striking six fours and three sixes, before edging Graeme Cremer behind. The two centurions had transformed a match that looked destined for a heavy first-innings deficit into a genuine contest.
Zimbabwe hit back once the stand was broken. Hashmatullah Shahidi and Shahidullah Kamal both fell with the score on 275, and by tea Afghanistan had slipped to 290 for five. But captain Rahmat Shah held the innings together with a patient unbeaten 94 from 194 balls, sharing fifty-run stands with Ikram Alikhil and Qais Ahmad as the hosts passed 400 in the 124th over.
Newman Nyamhuri was Zimbabwe’s most successful bowler with four for 62, and his side will still feel they hold the advantage. Afghanistan trail by 102 runs with three first-innings wickets in hand, and much of day four will hinge on whether Rahmat, six runs short of a deserved century, can drag his side past Zimbabwe’s total.
Zimbabwe’s 504 was built on captain Brian Bennett’s 128 on his captaincy debut, and the visitors will know that a first-innings lead, however small, would put them firmly in charge of a Test that has already produced more than 900 runs. Afghanistan, though, have shown they will not be brushed aside.
Related: Brian Bennett’s 128 on Captaincy Debut Powers Zimbabwe to 504 Against Afghanistan in Sharjah
Related: Atal and Debutant Rahmanullah Lead Afghanistan’s Spirited Reply After Zimbabwe Post 504 in Sharjah
