Only Test: Ngarava’s five-for powers Zimbabwe to first home Test win since 2013

Harare, Oct 22 Richard Ngarava produced a spell to remember as Zimbabwe crushed Afghanistan by an innings and 73 runs at the Harare Sports Club to seal their first home Test victory since 2013 and their biggest-ever Test win.

On a decisive third day that lasted less than three hours, Ngarava’s relentless accuracy under overcast skies earned him his maiden five-wicket haul in Tests and helped script an innings triumph — Zimbabwe’s first since 2001.

Captain Craig Ervine handed the new ball to Tanaka Chivanga instead of Blessing Muzarabani, a move that paid off immediately. In his third over, Chivanga had Rahmanullah Gurbaz (9) flicking down the leg side, with wicketkeeper Tafadzwa Tsiga completing a sharp catch. Three overs later, Ngarava struck similarly, removing Ibrahim Zadran for 42, as Tsiga claimed his second dismissal of the morning.

Hashmatullah Shahidi’s (7) brief stay ended when he edged a full delivery from Ngarava to Ervine at slip. Bahir Shah (32) and Afsar Zazai (18) attempted to steady the innings — Bahir struck six boundaries — but Muzarabani cramped him for room with a short ball that ballooned to Ben Curran at short-leg. Zazai followed soon after, mistiming a drive to backward point, leaving Afghanistan reeling at 127 for 6 by lunch.

Post-lunch, the sun briefly appeared, but Afghanistan’s hopes dimmed further. Chivanga thought he had Ismat Alam caught, but it turned out to be a no-ball; but Ngarava made amends soon after.

Bowling a teasing length outside off, he induced a cut from Alam (16), and Tsiga completed a stunning one-handed catch to his right — a moment that drew gasps from even the slip cordon. Two overs later, Sharafuddin Ashraf edged to second slip to give Ngarava his fifth wicket.

Muzarabani then cleaned up the tail with surgical precision. He flattened Khalil Gurbaz’s (6) leg stump before delivering a yorker that split middle stump to dismiss Ziaur Rahman. Muzarabani finished with six wickets in the match, sealing a dominant performance that Zimbabwe controlled from the second hour of the opening day.

Ngarava’s five-wicket burst, Chivanga’s pace, and Muzarabani’s closing spell capped off a match highlighted by Curran’s composed 121 on day two — an innings that earned him the Player-of-the-Match award — and Sikandar Raza’s steady 65.

“I’m ecstatic. A lot of credit to the boys for fighting and winning to end a tough year of Test cricket,” captain Craig Ervine said after the match. “The way we started, in the first hour of day one, wasn’t good, but the way the boys pulled things back was excellent. Then with the bat, Curran’s innings — full of composure and discipline — was outstanding. Brad [Evans] with the five-for in the first innings, and Richie [Ngarava] stepped up in the second innings. TK [Chivanga] was superb and Bless [Muzarabani] was unlucky not to take a few more wickets.”

Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi admitted his side’s batting collapse on day one proved decisive. “They played really good cricket, it was supporting the fast bowlers,” he said. “The ball was seaming around, but overall, we didn’t play good cricket. We started the Test well with 80 for 1 [77 for 1] in the first innings, but that collapse let us down. I feel the lack of our Test-playing experience cost us since we kept losing back-to-back wickets. In Test cricket, winning the first day is very important.”

With the landmark win secured, Zimbabwe will now turn their attention to the three-match T20I series against Afghanistan starting October 29.

Brief scores:

Afghanistan 127 & 159 in 43 overs (Ibrahim Zadran 42, Bahir Shah 32; Richard Ngarava 5-37, Blessing Muzarabani 4-38) lost to Zimbabwe 359 (Ben Curran 121, Sikandar Raza 65; Ziaur Rahman Sharifi 7-97) by an innings & 73 runs.

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