Afghanistan 425 for 2 (Rahmat 231*, Shahidi 141*) trail Zimbabwe 586 by 161 runs
Almost exactly 100 years since Jack Hobbs and Herbert Sutcliffe became the first pair to achieve it in Test cricket, the Afghanistan pair of Rahmat Shah and Hashmatullah Shahidi batted out a full day of a Test match without being dismissed. In the process, Rahmat became the holder of Afghanistan’s highest Test score (231*), Shahidi struck his second Test ton (141*), and the pair comfortably broke the record for Afghanistan’s best Test partnership (361). All in all, their addition of 330 runs across 95 overs on the third day has taken Afghanistan to 425 for 2, now only 161 behind Zimbabwe’s 586.
Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo ranks among one of the best places to bat among Test venues, and Zimbabwe’s first-innings score across the first two days suggested a placid third-day surface, which it was, barring the occasional ball that stayed low.
The Zimbabwe bowlers were made to grind by the strong defensive game showed by Rahmat and Shahidi, but they were also let down by their fielding. There were atleast four catches dropped, all off Rahmat, along with a few half-chances. Both spin and pace proved ineffective to get a breakthrough, and the set batters pounced on the loose deliveries from the inexperienced bowlers, a regular occurrence through the day.
