BENNETT STARS AS TEST ENDS IN DRAW

Brandon Moyo

Zimpapers Sports Hub

BRIAN Bennett’s debut Test match on home soil proved to be a memorable one as he delivered an all-round performance in a drawn Boxing Day Test between Zimbabwe and Afghanistan at Queens Sports Club.

Bennett — who made his Test debut against Ireland in July — produced a stellar performance with both bat and ball in a match where records tumbled.

The 21-year-old sensation scored a brilliant maiden century in Zimbabwe’s first innings before completing the match with a five-wicket haul.

He finished the first innings on an unbeaten 110 runs and later claimed figures of 5/95 from his 28-over spell.

In doing so, Bennett became only the second Zimbabwean cricketer to score a century and take a five-wicket haul in the same Test innings.

The last to achieve this feat was Paul Strang against Pakistan in 1996, when he made 106 not out and took 5/212 with the ball.

The fifth and final day of the historic Boxing Day Test resumed with Afghanistan batting on 515/3, with captain Hashmatullah Shahidi at the crease alongside Afsar Zazai.

Shahidi resumed on 179 runs off 367 deliveries, while Zazai was on 46 runs.

Shahidi would go on to complete his second Test double century, off 414 balls, before Zazai brought up his maiden Test hundred off 152 balls.

Sean Williams was the first to strike for Zimbabwe, getting Zazai caught by Johnathan Campbell (sub) for 113 runs off 169 balls.

In the 193rd over, Bennett claimed two wickets in two balls. He first trapped Shahidi in front for a career-best 246 runs before taking a catch and bowling off Azmatullah Omarzai for a golden duck.

His double strike left Afghanistan on 679/6, and Williams took his second wicket three overs later.

Sub fielder Tadiwanashe Marumani produced a stunning catch to dismiss Zia-ur-Rehman off a Williams delivery for five runs.

With Afghanistan now on 688/7 in 195.4 overs, Bennett rounded off his efforts with three wickets in the following over.

Once again, the talented Bennett struck twice in two balls. In the third delivery of his over, he had AM Ghazanfar caught at long-on for six runs before bowling out Naveed Zadran for a golden duck.

The next ball was a dot, and in the final delivery of the over, he trapped Zahir Khan for a two-ball duck, bringing an end to Afghanistan’s marathon innings.

The visitors now enjoyed a lead of 113 runs going into Zimbabwe’s second innings.

Joylord Gumbie and Ben Curran opened the batting for Zimbabwe in the second session of the day. Gumbie played a more conservative innings before he was dismissed soon after tea. He was caught for 24 runs off 58 deliveries, and following his wicket, there was an hour rain delay.

When play resumed, Curran was run out attempting a quick single, and his wicket brought Sean Williams to the middle, where he joined Takudzwanashe Kaitano.

Kaitano was the next to fall, trapped in front for five runs off six balls.

The new man in, Dion Myers, also did not stay long in the middle, as he was bowled by an AM Ghazanfar beauty for four runs. At the time, Zimbabwe were now trailing by 25 runs.

With Afghanistan starting to sniff something, it was the experienced duo of Craig Ervine and Williams that managed to see off the game.

Ervine and Shahidi decided to shake hands to call the game off.

Zimbabwe were on 142/4 when play was called off. They had scored 586 in the first innings before Afghanistan responded with 699.

Speaking after the game, Ervine gave credit to his batters but believes that if they had taken their chances on the field, they could have had the chance of winning the Test match.

“With the first innings, the guys batted exceptionally well to set up the game, but unfortunately the one area where we will probably look back and think the outcome would have been different if we had taken our chances in the field.

“A lot of credit is also going to go to Rahmat Shah and Hashmatullah. The way they batter was exceptional, patient, and determined.

The application that they showed for a long period of time was good. We knew that it was always going to come down to the fifth day, down to maybe the last two sessions.

“In Test cricket you can lose a game in a session; you can’t win a game in a session.

So, the chat we had this morning was to make sure that we stay focused because we weren’t too sure when they were going to declare,” said Ervine.

He added, “We had to make sure we don’t give them a platform of picking up 10 wickets in a session and a half.

A lot of credit to the guys; they stayed focused, and a lot of credit to the bowlers for the way they went about their business throughout the Test match.”

With the Boxing Day Test match having ended as a draw, the series decider will be yet another historic encounter, the New Year’s Day Test match scheduled to get underway on Thursday.

This will be Zimbabwe’s first-ever New Year’s Day Test, home or abroad.