Ervine’s 206 and Madhevere’s maiden ton cap high-scoring draw in Sharjah
SHARJAH – The first Test between Zimbabwe and Afghanistan ended in a draw, with Craig Ervine and Wessly Madhevere scoring career-best hundreds on the final day.
Ervine finished on 206 not out off 279 balls, his first Test double century, beating his previous best of 160. Madhevere made 100 not out off 108 balls, his first Test hundred. The pair shared an unbroken stand of 208 for the sixth wicket as Zimbabwe reached 523 for five in their second innings.
It was a match dominated by batters:
1,541 runs for 25 wickets across five days
Seven centuries: four for Zimbabwe and three for Afghanistan
Only Afghanistan’s second innings was never started
For the African side, the Test brought several landmarks:
Brian Bennett: 128 and 58 in his first Test as captain
Brendan Taylor: 131 and 82, his first Test hundred in eight years
Newman Nyamhuri: a maiden Test five-for, five for 82, at the age of 20
Antum Naqvi: a half-century (61) on debut
Tafadzwa Tsiga: six dismissals in Afghanistan’s innings
Afghanistan’s highlights were Rahmat Shah’s 173 and centuries from Sediqullah Atal (105) and debutant Rahmanullah (113).
The second Test runs from 13 to 17 November.
