Taylor saves Zimbabwe again after Shah heroics rescue Afghanistan

Brendon Taylor led Zimbabwe’s fightback with another cracking fifty as they were reduced to 37/2 in the second innings after Afghanistan took a slim lead of 10 runs, courtesy of a century by Rahmat Shah (173) on the fourth day of the first Test in Sharjah.

Zimbabwe were 163/3 at stumps with Brian Bennett (49) and Craig Ervine (20) at the crease. The match seems to be heading towards a draw.

Sharjah Cricket Stadium has hosted nine Tests out of which only one ended in a draw while eight produced a result at an astonishing success rate of 89%.

Zimbabwe were facing a fear of another batting collapse after losing two wickets in quick succession. First innings centurion Taylor came to their rescue. He took the charge in his hands and hit quite a few boundaries to take the pressure off.

He smashed a quick-fire 82 off 88 deliveries, hitting 11 boundaries and two huge sixes. He also added 84 runs for the third wicket with Bennett to pull Zimbabwe out of the rut. He was looking set for another ton before Bennett got him run out as Zimbabwe lost the third wicket.

After calling Taylor for a suicidal single, Bennett took a few steps and sent back an ageing Taylor. It was too late for the veteran batsman to turn around and make his ground. Zia gave a perfect throw and Aikhil took the bails away. A fine inning ended in the most disappointing fashion.

The dismissal of Taylor left the doors open for Afghanistan to force a result. Zimbabwe would have been four down for the same score if Shah had not dropped an easy catch of Ervine.

However, Ervine and Bennett played out the last hour of the day without any further damage. The left-right batting combination did not allow Afghanistan’s bowlers to stick one line or length. They were forced to adapt after every single.

The first two sessions on the fourth day were dominated by Afghanistan. It belonged to Afghan captain Rahmat Shah, who produced a valiant effort and led chase from the front with a gritty career-best 173.

Resuming from the overnight score of 402/7, Afghanistan had a long distance to cover. They were still trailing by 102 runs with just three wickets in hand.

Shah added a life-saving 92 runs for the eight wicket with Zia-ur-Rehman, making the longest eight-wicket stand for Afghanistan in Tests.

Shah brought up his second consecutive century with a boundary at the deep backward point off pacer Nyamhuri in the first hour of the play. It was Shah’s fifth hundred in Test matches.

But they still had a long way to go. Shah kept his cool and knuckled down to complete the job with Zia, who complemented his captain with a patient knock of 15 runs. But he stayed on the crease for more than one and a half sessions and consumed 99 deliveries to frustrate the Zimbabwean bowlers.

Sharjah’s pitch is a batsman’s paradise. With no help from a dry and smooth surface, pacers were not able to mount any pressure. Both the Afghan batters played out the first session comfortably.

The best time for a bowler in a Test match to take a wicket is in the first hour of the play or the last hour of the day. Zimbabwean pacers Nyamhuri and Blessings Muzarabani were hitting the deck hard but the ball was not bouncing enough to intimidate the batsmen.

Shah and Zia kept the scoreboard ticking as they stretched the overnight partnership gradually but steadily. They played every ball on its merit. Shah kept most of the strike in his hands.

In a 92-run stand, Zia’s contribution was only 15 that is just 17%. Afghanistan reached 465/7. Just after lunch, Shah took a single to reach the 150-run mark. He absorbed all the pressure and guided the tail as well.

Soon after the drinks break, Zimbabwe took a new ball in search of a breakthrough. The change of the ball finally brought a change in the fortunes of Zimbabwe as well.

Once the shine of the ball is gone it is difficult to swing it for the pacers. Though spinners can grip an old ball better. But the turf had not started to wear out and there were no cracks in it for the spinners to use them.

Muzarabani did the trick for Zimbabwe as he broke the partnership by getting rid of Zia. Zia was caught behind the stumps, dropping guard after a resistance of 162 minutes. His job was done and so was the damage for Zimbabwe.

After his departure, Shah also lost patience and threw away his wicket to a reckless shot. He spurned a chance to score a double ton after slogging it out in the middle for almost three sessions.

Cremer returned once again to give Zimbabwe the wicket that they had been waiting for almost three sessions. He bowled a flighted delivery to invite Shah down the wicket and the Afghanistan captain could not resist the temptation.