good length, on leg. Pulled to deep midwicket and Afghanistan win by six wickets!
And as Sean Williams and Asghar Afghan pose with the beautiful trophy to sign off a tied series, it's time for us to say goodbye too. The T20Is start very soon - the first one is on March 17. We'll see you then. On behalf of Thilak Ram, Chandan Duorah, Karthik Krishnaswamy, Firdose Moonda, Shashank Kishore and me Sreshth Shah, thanks for joining us.
3.33pm The presentation has started.
Asghar Afghan, the second Test's winning captain. He says, "Winning the match was very important for us. We learnt a lot from the first game. Our guys showed that too, especially in the batting side. Hashmat was impressive. I play my own game, sometimes attacking. The first game we were disappointing, but we are new in Test cricket. These two matches, we learnt a lot. Rashid wasn't totally fit, he was injured. But everytime he does something good for his country. With a broken finger. I will give a lot of credit to Rashid."
Player of the Series award goes to Zimbabwe captainSean Williams after the presenter says that Amir Hamza, Ibrahim Zadran and Shahidi were some of the contenders. He says, "I thought it was a fantastic series. The first game, winning in two days, was remarkable. Coming into the second match, we were on the backfoot right away after conceding 545. I thought we missed out on winning the series by just 60 minutes. But congratulations to both teams. Yesterday, we thought we could've drawn the Test match. We thought of taking it by the hour, and try to get Donald to a hundred. It's not a pitch you can score quick runs in. I think being the leader, things have changed for me. But I have a bunch of other leaders in the side. We've got some personnel changes for the T20Is, some interesting, new faces. That's exciting for us. Hopefully some different wickets."
Player of the Match award goes to Hashmatullah Shahidi, pipping Rashid's 11-for. The commentators decided that his double-hundred deserved it more. He says, "It was tough after first Test. We were disappointed there. But thanks from the coaching staff, HD Ackerman, and Nawroz and captain for believing me. We had hard work before coming here. I want to congratulate my whole nation on this win. I just wanted to stay long after a disappointing first Test. I wanted to take responsibility as a senior player. Feeling very good about the first 200, it's a big achievement for me. I hope it's not the first and last one for me."
3.30pm We'll have the presentation soon. Stick around for reactions.
Iain Climie: "Afghanistan are great but they'd be giving their fans palpitations if the target was another 30 or 40 runs. Credit to Zimbabwe too for keeping going."
Noori Tanha: "I Love Cricket"
3.22pm And the series ends 1-1, a fitting result for a quality series. Zimbabwe will probably be more disappointed, having come into the second Test with the lead. But a very poor batting performance in the first innings - especially given how dead the batting deck was - has cost them a first series win since 2004.
The teams bump fists, and the camera focuses on Rashid Khan, who took 11 wickets in 99.2 overs. A solid comeback having missed the first Test. Also makes you wonder if the series result would've been totally different had he played the first game. Don't forget the other records in this match, most importantly, Afghanistan's maiden double centurion in Hashmatullah Shahidi. Asghar Afghan's 165 is now the second-highest score for the country. In a sort of fitting touch, Shahidi hit the winning runs in this match. Amir Hamza and Ibrahim Zadran were excellent across both matches too.
Plenty of positives for Zimbabwe too. On surfaces that have something for fast bowlers, Blessing Murazabani and Victor Nyauchi can be quite a handful. Sean Williams clocked two centuries in three innings. A couple of good batting performances from Sikandar Raza too.
Eventually, even if you supported either team or followed this series as a neutral, it was quite enjoyable. Very few people expected Zimbabwe to wrap up a win inside two days in the first Test. And then very few expected them to force Afghanistan to bat for a second time in this match. Some great individual performances to remember this series for.
Arun: "Why Asghar has not come out to bat? A fear of drop in average. This stamps his mindset of what was discussed in last few days here" -- Think he wanted Shahidullah - who didn't bat first innings - to try and finish the match and get some confidence by doing so. After that, they're just following the batting order.
full, on off. Down on one knee and clobbered to deep midwicket for four. Scores are tied
full on middle. Defended off the front foot
good length, on middle and leg. Nudged to deep backward square leg. Avoids being the seventh man to get a double hundred and a duck in the same match!
Shahidi.
bowled 'im! Burl celebrates. Length ball, on off. Skidding into leg. Misses the dragged flick. Rattles the stumps
full and wide. Comes down the wicket and clobbers a six down the ground! Single digits for Afghanistan now
full, on off. Turning away. Defended to cover point
back of a length, on leg. Pulls, but misses. Over the blade to the keeper
Laiq Khan Hamid: "Not a lucky series at all for the debutants. Five duck for the debutants. Good luck next time."
back of a length, outside leg stump. Smothers a pulled shot to short fine leg
good length, on leg. Extra bounce. Fended
back of a length, outside leg stump. Left alone
good length, on middle. Pulled to the leg side
appeal for a caught as this short ball hits the batsman. Pops up in the air and taken by the infielder. Jamal offered no shot. They think it's out but umpire Dar says it hit the elbow
good length, on middle and leg. Tapped towards the non-striker
full, on middle. Driven to mid on
full outside off. Slaps a square drive. Finds cover point
fullish, on off. Defended off the back foot
length ball outside off. Turning in. He makes room and defends it to the off side
good length ball, defended
around the stumps, good length on leg stump. Swivels to pull to fine leg
2W | ||||
3W | 1W | |||
1W | ||||
1W | 1W | |||
1W | 1W | |||
Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi | |
Toss | Afghanistan, elected to bat first |
Series | |
Season | 2020/21 |
Player Of The Match | |
Player Of The Series | |
Series result | 2-match series drawn 1-1 |
Match number | Test no. 2415 |
Hours of play (local time) | 10am start, Lunch 12.00-12.40, Tea 14.40-15.00, Close 17.00 |
Match days | 10,11,12,13,14 March 2021 - day (5-day match) |
Test debut | Sayed Shirzad Shahidullah |
Umpires | |
TV Umpire | |
Reserve Umpire | |
Match Referee |