The first Test between Afghanistan and Zimbabwe ended in a flat draw on Monday after a massive run-fest in Sharjah. Both teams combined for over 1,500 runs on a lifeless surface. Six players hit hundreds, including a double century from Craig Ervine. The second Test starts this coming Friday.
Batters ruled a lifeless Sharjah surface as Zimbabwe and Afghanistan combined for a mountain of runs, with milestones, a national record and no result to show for it.
A run-fest in Sharjah ended in a tame draw on Monday, with Zimbabwe opting against a declaration on a docile surface in the first Test against Afghanistan. The match produced more than 1,500 runs, including six hundreds and a double hundred.
On the final day, veteran Craig Ervine and allrounder Wessly Madhevere put together an unbroken 208-run partnership, and both reached personal landmarks along the way.
The 41-year-old Ervine remained 206 not out for his maiden Test double hundred. Off-spinner Madhevere made 100 not out, his first Test century with the bat, as Zimbabwe finished its second innings on 523 for 5.
No. 3 Brendan Taylor contributed 82 to that total. He had made 131 in the first innings, sharing a big stand with captain Brian Bennett (128), as Zimbabwe posted 504 in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.
Afghanistan matched it with 514. Opener Sediqullah Atal (105), No. 3 Rahmanullah (113) and captain Rahmat Shah, who made 173 at No. 4, all scored hundreds.
Shah and Zia-ur-Rehman added 92 for the eighth wicket, a national record for Afghanistan, as Zimbabwe's bowlers struggled in the heat.
The second and final Test begins on Friday, also in Sharjah.