THE Zimbabwe national cricket team, the Chevrons, have made headlines at Harare Sports Club after thumping Afghanistan by an innings and 73 runs in their one-off Test.
It is Zimbabwe’s first Test victory by an innings since 2001, and it comes with standout individual performances and a unified team effort.
It was pure dominance by the Chevrons from Day One, when Brad Evans inspired Zimbabwe’s run to bowl out Afghanistan for just 127 runs in their first innings.
Evans, who ended up with figures of five for 22, set the framework before Zimbabwe piled on the pressure with the bat, led by Ben Curran, who celebrated his maiden Test century, scoring a brilliant 121 runs.
Player of the Match Curran was supported by Sikandar Raza with 65 and Nick Welch, who narrowly missed out on a half-century with 49, as Zimbabwe posted a massive 359 runs all out, giving them a first-innings lead of 232.
The final blow came on Day Three, as Richard Ngarava stole the show, also picking up his maiden five-for, finishing with 5 for 33.
Blessing Muzarabani sealed the deal, taking two wickets in the 43rd over, wrapping up a famous win as the Chevrons triumphed by an innings and 73 runs.
It is Zimbabwe’s biggest victory in Test cricket and the third time they have won by an innings.
The Chevrons’ last Test victory came in 2013, while the country’s last innings win was 24 years ago, when they beat Bangladesh in 2001.
Zimbabwe will take pride in this result as they look to build momentum in white-ball cricket, with the first T20I set for Wednesday next week at the same venue.
