AFG vs ZIM: Top five performers from the drawn Test series
The Afghanistan side stormed back in stunning fashion and thrashed the Zimbabwe side by 6 wickets to level the short two-match Test series 1-1. The Asghar Afghan-led side produced a clinical performance with both bat and ball in the second Test. Even though the Zimbabwe willow wielders offered some resistance with the willow in the second innings, their effort went in vain. Having said that, let us take a look at the Top 5 performers of the Test series between the two sides.
5. Hashmatullah Shahidi
Hashmatullah Shahidi created history by becoming the first Afghanistan batsman to score a double century in Test cricket. In a marathon knock that lasted a whopping 443 deliveries, the left-hander scored 200* in the second Test to help the Afghanistan side post a mammoth total of 545/4 on the board. Shahidi’s innings was laced with 21 fours and a six. His innings allowed his side to draw level in the two-match Test series.
4. Asghar Afghan
He stood up for his side when it mattered the most. Afghanistan skipper Asghar Afghan scored a classy 164 off 257 deliveries in the first innings of the second Test, forged a gargantuan partnership of 307 runs for the 4th wicket with Hashmatullah Shahidi as the duo batted Zimbabwe out of the match. The right-hander pummeled 14 fours and a couple of sixes in his innings to allow Afghanistan to secure a win.
3. Sean Williams
Fourth Test hundred for @sean14williams, his second in the series ?
What a fighting knock this has been!#AFGvZIM ➡️ https://t.co/RnJObjXDPq pic.twitter.com/E5mfLoFSI6
— ICC (@ICC) March 13, 2021
In the first Test, skipper Sean Williams sent the Afghanistan bowlers on a leather hunt and scored 105 off 174 deliveries to inspire his side to a 10-wicket victory over Afghanistan. Williams alternated between caution and aggression to produce a classic in the first Test. Even in the 2nd Test, he stood like an immovable rock for the Zimbabwe side in the second innings. In a 309-ball vigil that frustrated the Afghanistan bowlers, Williams scored an unbeaten 151 for his side with 13 fours and a six in his classy innings.
2.Rashid Khan
He is one of the best bowlers of the modern era. Irrespective of the format, Rashid Khan is a nightmare for the batsmen. And, in the second Test, the leg-spin sensation gobbled up 11 Zimbabwe batsmen to once again assert why he is Afghanistan’s biggest asset. While he took 4/138 in the first innings, he recorded figures of 7/137 in the second essay.
1.Blessing Muzarbani
Blessing Muzarbani was indeed a ‘blessing’ for the Zimbabwe side in the first Test. The right-arm pacer ripped through the Afghanistan batting line up and picked up 4 wickets, giving away just 48 runs in the first innings and helped his side to skittle out the Afghanistan side for just 131 runs. Even in the second innings, Muzarbani picked up 2 wickets to finish with a match haul of 6 wickets.
