Test Match Triumph: Sean Williams and Ben Curran’s Heroics Put Zimbabwe in Control on Day 1
CricketPanditSean Williams scored his fifth Test hundred, while Ben Curran made a half-century on his debut, and Craig Ervine added another fifty, putting Zimbabwe in a strong position at the end of Day 1 of the first Test against Afghanistan in Bulawayo. Ben, the second of the three Curran brothers, set the pace with a quick fifty, and Williams went on to make an unbeaten 145 off 161 balls. He was part of three partnerships worth over fifty runs, including a solid unbroken 143-run stand with Ervine, helping the hosts finish the day at 363 for 4. Zimbabwe’s batting was impressive, scoring at nearly 4.3 runs per over, which kept Afghanistan on the back foot.
Choosing to bat first, Zimbabwe got off to a fast start, with the openers putting on 43 runs in less than 10 overs. Curran was the main contributor in that partnership until Naveed Zadran had Joylord Gumbie caught behind for 9. A 49-run partnership followed between Curran and Takudzwanashe Kaitano, with Curran again taking the lead, hitting four fours in one over off Zahir Khan. However, just before Lunch, the well-set Curran fell to a carrom ball from Ghazanfar, bowled for 68 off 74 balls, leaving Zimbabwe at 92/2.
Kaitano played a cautious innings, but Zimbabwe kept up a good scoring rate thanks to Sean Williams, who hit a boundary off the first ball after the break from Ghazanfar and even pulled the spinner for a six. Kaitano also hit a maximum, slog-sweeping Hashmatullah Shahidi over midwicket, but he fell four runs short of a fifty, getting out to Zahir after a 78-run partnership. Dion Myers then joined Williams, and both continued to find the boundary regularly, with Williams reaching fifty off 58 balls. Zimbabwe crossed the 200 mark before Tea, scoring 112 runs in the second session off 26.3 overs, losing only one wicket.
Williams began the final session with a six off Zahir in the first over after Tea, but a few overs later, Myers edged a leading shot back to Ghazanfar, ending their partnership at 50 runs.But the wicket was just a brief respite for Afghanistan as another solid partnership emerged. Williams and Craig Ervine steadily added to the total, with Williams hitting a six over long-on off Abdul Malik to enter the 80s. He reached 99 with a four off Zahir before bringing up his century with a couple of runs. Their partnership surpassed 100, and Ervine soon reached fifty as Afghanistan struggled to make an impact.
Williams was given out caught at first slip after attempting a reverse sweep off Zahir, but the umpire missed that the ball had bounced before reaching the fielder. Fortunately for Williams, the bowler had overstepped, allowing him to return to the crease. The second new ball offered no relief for Afghanistan, as Zimbabwe’s fifth-wicket pair pushed the score past 350. To make matters worse for the visitors, Naveed dropped Ervine off his own bowling before bad light brought an early end to the day’s play, with five overs still remaining.
Brief scores: Zimbabwe 363/4 (Sean Williams 145*, Ben Curran 68, Craig Ervine 56*; AM Ghazanfar 2-83) vs Afghanistan.
