Zimbabwe Dominates on Day 1 of Bulawayo Test, Afghanistan All Out for 157

On the first day of the second Test in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe displayed their dominance with a superb bowling performance. Opting to bowl first, they dismissed Afghanistan for just 157 runs. While the batting performance of both teams in the first Test had led to a draw, Zimbabwe is now ahead in the second Test.

Zimbabwe's bowlers needed only 44.3 overs to bowl Afghanistan out in their first innings. The visitors were dismissed for a mere 157 runs, with no Afghan batter managing to score more than 25 runs, although eight of them did reach double figures.

Due to rain and a wet outfield, play at Queens Sports Club started nearly four hours late. After winning the toss, Zimbabwe's captain, Craig Ervine, opted to bowl first. His decision was immediately validated by the bowlers, who denied Afghanistan any opportunity to build a significant innings.

Rashid Khan was the highest scorer for Afghanistan, making 25 runs off 20 balls while batting at number eight before he was dismissed by Blessing Muzarabani. The debutant opener, Riaz Hassan, made only 12 runs, while fellow opener Abdul Malik scored 17. The two double-centurions from the previous Test, Rahmat Shah and Ibrahim Zadran, were both dismissed cheaply, with Rahmat falling for 19 to Sikandar Raza.

Afghanistan's captain, Hashmatullah Shahidi, also failed with the bat, managing just 13 runs off 30 balls. Another debutant, all-rounder Ismat Alam, was dismissed for a duck. After a gap of nearly four years, Rashid Khan played the highest innings for Afghanistan in this Test. In the end, Afghanistan's first innings was wrapped up for 157 runs in just 44.3 overs.

For Zimbabwe, Sikandar Raza and Newman Niyamhuri both took 3 wickets each, while Blessing Muzarabani claimed 2 wickets. Richard Ngarava also picked up 1 wicket.