On a decisive third day that lasted less than three hours, Ngarava\u2019s relentless accuracy under overcast skies earned him his maiden five-wicket haul in Tests and helped script an innings triumph \u2014 Zimbabwe\u2019s first since 2001.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
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.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Hashmatullah Shahidi\u2019s (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 \u2014 Bahir struck six boundaries \u2014 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.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Post-lunch, the sun briefly appeared, but Afghanistan\u2019s 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.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Bowling a teasing length outside off, he induced a cut from Alam (16), and Tsiga completed a stunning one-handed catch to his right \u2014 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.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Muzarabani then cleaned up the tail with surgical precision. He flattened Khalil Gurbaz\u2019s (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.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Ngarava\u2019s five-wicket burst, Chivanga\u2019s pace, and Muzarabani\u2019s closing spell capped off a match highlighted by Curran\u2019s composed 121 on day two \u2014 an innings that earned him the Player-of-the-Match award \u2014 and Sikandar Raza\u2019s steady 65.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cI\u2019m ecstatic. A lot of credit to the boys for fighting and winning to end a tough year of Test cricket,\u201d captain Craig Ervine said after the match. \u201cThe way we started, in the first hour of day one, wasn\u2019t good, but the way the boys pulled things back was excellent. Then with the bat, Curran\u2019s innings \u2014 full of composure and discipline \u2014 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.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi admitted his side\u2019s batting collapse on day one proved decisive. \u201cThey played really good cricket, it was supporting the fast bowlers,\u201d he said. \u201cThe ball was seaming around, but overall, we didn\u2019t 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.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
With the landmark win secured, Zimbabwe will now turn their attention to the three-match T20I series against Afghanistan starting October 29.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi admitted his side\u2019s batting collapse on day one proved decisive. \u201cThey played really good cricket, it was supporting the fast bowlers,\u201d he said. \u201cThe ball was seaming around, but overall, we didn\u2019t 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.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
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.<\/p>\r\n\r\n