Zimbabwe limits Afghanistan to subpar total in first innings

Zimbabwe Team. (Photo Source: ZC//X)

Afghanistan and Zimbabwe kicked off the second Test of their ongoing series. Both sides locked horns at the Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo, on January 2. Day 1 of the clash began with Afghanistan coming in to bat first after losing the toss.

Afghanistan opened the innings with Abdul Malik and Riaz Hassan coming out to bat. However, Zimbabwe’s brilliant bowling attack saw both openers depart quite early. Malik scored 17 runs, whereas Hassan departed for 12 runs. Furthermore, Rahmat Shah added 19 runs on the board with Hashmatullah Shahidi departing after adding 13 runs on the board. 

Things went from bad to worse after Afsar Zazai and Shahidullah departed for 16 and 12 runs, respectively. Rashid Khan was the highest run-getter for Afghanistan in the first innings with 25 runs to his name. 

Zimbabwe’s bowling attack put in an excellent performance and limited Afghanistan to a very low total. Sikandar Raza and Newman Nyamhuri were the highest wicket-takers in the first innings with three wickets each to their names. Blessing Muzarabani took two wickets with Richard Ngarava taking one wicket as well. 

Afghanistan got folded cheaply in first innings

Afghanistan were limited to a score of just 157 runs in the first innings of the game. Day 1 of the clash ended with Zimbabwe coming out to bat and scoring six runs before the end of the day. With day 2 approaching, Zimbabwe will hope for a better performance as compared to Afghanistan.

Also Check– Zimbabwe vs Afghanistan Match Preview, 2nd Test

The side will look to make for a big lead and put Afghanistan under pressure in the upcoming days. With the first Test of the series being drawn, both sides will be after a result, and the fans will be hoping for the same as well.