Harare, Oct 22 (NationPress) Richard Ngarava delivered an unforgettable performance as Zimbabwe triumphed over Afghanistan by an innings and 73 runs at the Harare Sports Club, marking their first home Test victory since 2013 and their most significant Test win to date.

On a pivotal third day lasting under three hours, Ngarava's relentless precision under overcast conditions secured him his inaugural five-wicket haul in Test matches and facilitated an innings victory — Zimbabwe’s first since 2001.

Captain Craig Ervine opted to hand the new ball to Tanaka Chivanga instead of Blessing Muzarabani, a decision that proved fruitful right away. In his third over, Chivanga had Rahmanullah Gurbaz (9) caught down the leg side, with wicketkeeper Tafadzwa Tsiga executing a sharp catch. Just three overs later, Ngarava struck, dismissing Ibrahim Zadran for 42, as Tsiga took his second catch of the morning.

Hashmatullah Shahidi’s (7) brief innings ended when he edged a full delivery from Ngarava to Ervine at slip. Bahir Shah (32) and Afsar Zazai (18) tried to stabilize the innings — Bahir struck six boundaries — but Muzarabani confined him with a short ball that ballooned to Ben Curran at short-leg. Zazai soon followed, mistiming a drive to backward point, leaving Afghanistan struggling at 127 for 6 by lunch.

After lunch, the sun made a brief appearance, but Afghanistan's prospects dimmed further. Chivanga believed he had Ismat Alam caught, but it was a no-ball; however, Ngarava quickly made amends.

Bowling a teasing length outside off, he coaxed a cut from Alam (16), which Tsiga caught with a stunning one-handed effort — a moment that drew gasps even from the slip cordon. Two overs later, Sharafuddin Ashraf edged to second slip, granting Ngarava his fifth wicket.

Muzarabani then meticulously cleaned up the tail. He flattened Khalil Gurbaz’s (6) leg stump before delivering a yorker that split middle stump to dismiss Ziaur Rahman. Muzarabani finished with six wickets in the match, underscoring a dominant performance by Zimbabwe that they controlled from the second hour of the first day.

Ngarava’s five-wicket haul, Chivanga’s pace, and Muzarabani’s concluding spell capped off a match highlighted by Curran’s composed 121 on day two — an innings that earned him the Player-of-the-Match award — alongside Sikandar Raza’s steady 65.

“I am ecstatic. A lot of credit goes to the boys for fighting and securing victory to conclude a challenging year of Test cricket,” Captain Craig Ervine stated post-match. “Our start on day one was not ideal, but the way the boys regrouped was commendable. Curran’s innings was full of composure and discipline. Brad [Evans] took five wickets in the first innings, and Richie [Ngarava] stepped up in the second. TK [Chivanga] was fantastic, and Bless [Muzarabani] was unfortunate not to claim more wickets.”

Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi acknowledged that his team's batting collapse on day one was a turning point. “They played exceptional cricket, accommodating the fast bowlers,” he said. “The ball was seaming, but overall, we did not perform well. We started the Test well with 80 for 1 but collapsed, which let us down. Our lack of Test-playing experience was evident as we lost wickets back-to-back. Winning the first day is crucial in Test cricket.”

With this landmark victory secured, Zimbabwe will shift their focus to the upcoming three-match T20I series against Afghanistan starting on October 29.

Brief scores:

Afghanistan 127 & 159 in 43 overs (Ibrahim Zadran 42, Bahir Shah 32; Richard Ngarava 5-37, Blessing Muzarabani 4-38) lost to Zimbabwe 359 (Ben Curran 121, Sikandar Raza 65; Ziaur Rahman Sharifi 7-97) by an innings & 73 runs.