Zimbabwe tighten position despite Naseer's seven-fer
Zimbabwe scored 339 and then had Afghanistan on the ropes, reducing them to 159/6 at stumps on Day 2
Zimbabwe strengthened their grip on the second Test against Afghanistan after Brendan Taylor's 119 helped them reach 339 in the first innings, before their bowlers struck repeatedly to leave the hosts struggling at 159 for 6 at the end of Day Two in Sharjah, trailing by 180 runs.
Taylor began the day on 96, with Zimbabwe placed at 250 for 5, and wasted little time in completing his century. He reached the landmark off 171 deliveries, having struck 12 boundaries and a six, but then fell for 119. Zimbabwe lost Tafadzwa Tsiga four balls later and were seven down. It took some late-order resistance from Brad Evans (32 off 50) to push Zimbabwe past the 300 mark. Afghanistan's debutant spinner Naseer Khan added to his Day 1 tally of four wickets to finish with fine figures that read: 44-12-151-7.
Having accounted for Taylor early in the morning with a full delivery that beat his attempted reverse sweep, Naseer returned to dismantle the lower order. He dismissed Graeme Cremer leg-before and bowled Vincent Masekesa off consecutive deliveries in the 110th over. His haul is the second-best by an Afghanistan bowler on Test debut.
The hosts, however, had little to show for their efforts with the ball as their batting faltered in response. They lost two wickets inside the opening 10 overs, slipping to 27 for 2, and went into the Tea break at 54 for 2, with Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Hashmatullah Shahidi at the crease.
Gurbaz fell after making 21, while Afghanistan continued to lose wickets as they crossed the 100-run mark. At 115 for 4, Afsar Zazai and Ikram Alikhil attempted to stop the rut, but their stand did not last long enough to shift the momentum. Afghanistan lost their fifth wicket at 136 before another breakthrough left them six down at stumps.
Blessing Muzarabani picked three of the six wickets to fall, while Vincent Masekesa picked up two. Zazai was unbeaten on 33 at stumps, batting alongside Naseer.
Brief Scores: Zimbabwe 339 (Brendan Taylor 119, Innocent Kaia 96; Naseer Khan 7-151) lead Afghanistan 159/6 (Rahmanullah Khan 33; Blessing Muzarabani 3-31) by 180 runs
