Test cricket is a thing of beauty. And it will give us joy forever. Afghanistan’s win at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi, is the latest chapter in the 2021 book of Test cricket wonder tales.
Going into Day 5, Zimbabwe were 266/7 with Sean Williams (151 not out) and Donald Tiripano (95) building on a 124-run partnership for the eighth wicket. And build they did, adding another 63 to the tally.
Afghanistan’s spin machinery, led by Rashid Khan, acted on patience and persistence for 225 overs. It eventually paid off when Rashid picked up Tiripano. It was Rashid’s sixth wicket of the innings and his tenth of the match, that too after returning from an injury and having missed out on playing the first Test. However, as Tiripano missed out on a maiden Test ton, emotions of jubilation and sorrow came together in a neutral venue in front of neutral viewers.
The Zimbabwe innings went for another 88 balls as Williams kept them going. This was a third Test century for the 34-year-old and his highest score in Test cricket. As hard as he did try and toil in the middle, his team couldn’t manage to post a target outscoring his personal innings.
Afghanistan needed 108 to win the Test and level the series on the last day. Given what has transpired from Adelaide to Ahmedabad over the last three months, there would have been a few bets for Zimbabwe to make this 2-0 and take the trophy home, more so after Afghanistan opener Javed Ahmadi fell in the first over.
But then some tales are not meant to be, while some are. Afghanistan were meant to win this one.
In another dimension, 19-year-old Ibrahim Zadran is the second man to score a Test ton for Afghanistan. In our world, however, he missed out on that in the first innings. But he made sure that his team didn’t miss out on celebrations. An 81-run stand with Rahmat Shah, owner of Afghanistan’s first Test ton, earned Ibrahim a place in Afghanistan’s cricket folklore.
Zimbabwe though opened the window for some bad air before Afghanistan could claim the day and the match. Three wickets inside four overs delayed the celebrations. But they couldn’t stop them.
It was only fitting that Hashmatullah Shahidi, the man who got the first double hundred for his country, was in the middle when they sealed the game. And so it happened.
As Nasir Jamal pulled a short ball through square leg to complete the formality of a single, Afghanistan made Test cricket proud. They won a Test match after losing their last one in two days, by 10 wickets. As far as progress is concerned isn’t this quite a template.
Afghanistan have now won Test matches against three of five teams they have played and have been thrashed by India and West Indies. Whether they are ready to take on the big guns at this point is debatable, but it will certainly not be wise to rule them out.