Zimbabwe v Afghanistan, 2014

At Harare (Country Club), July 27-30, 2014. Afghanistan won by 35 runs. Afghanistan 105 (T. L. Chatara 5-31) and 321 (Najeeb Taraki 51, Najibullah Zadran 99; M. T. Chinouya 4-92); ‡Zimbabwe A 165 (L. M. Jongwe 58; Yamin Ahmadzai 5-58, Fareed Ahmad 5-54) and 226 (M. A. Vermeulen 107; Yamin Ahmadzai 3-65, Mirwais Ashraf 6-35). First-class debuts: Fareed Ahmad, Najeeb Taraki, Qasim Khan. This was Afghanistan's maiden first-class win in a Test-playing country. Tendai Chatara bundled the Afghans out shortly after lunch, but then the Zimbabweans collapsed to Yamin Ahmadzai and 19-year-old Fareed Ahmad, who both claimed maiden five-wicket hauls. Karim Sadiq, pushed up to open in the second innings, helped erase the deficit, and Najibullah Zadran and Fazal Niazai (42*) transformed the game with a century partnership, before Najibullah was bowled one short of a maiden hundred. The home side had more than five sessions to score 262 but - aside from Mark Vermeulen, making his return to Zimbabwe colours after almost five years, and Mutumbami (41) - they lacked the resolve, and collapsed to Mirwais Ashraf's medium-pace.