TAKASHINGA Cricket Club trio Richard Ngarava, Blessing Muzarabani and Tanaka Chivanga led Zimbabwe to a huge innings and 73-run victory over Afghanistan in the one-off Test claiming all the 10 wickets in the second innings at Harare Sports Club on Wednesday.

Zimbabwe posted 359 runs in their first innings before bowling out Afghanistan for 127 and 159. The home side’s pace attack, led by Ngarava and Muzarabani, tore through the visitors quickly and accurately.

Muzarabani finished with match figures of 6 for 95 after climing three scalps in each of the innings.

Ngarava claimed his maiden fiver in Test cricket.

In the second innings he was particularly outstanding, taking five wickets for 37 runs in 13 overs to finish with a career best match figures of 5/65 from 19 overs.

The left-arm seamer bowled with rhythm and discipline, removing Abdul Malik (2), Ibrahim Zadran (42), Hashmatullah Shahidi (7), Ismat Alam (16), and Sharafuddin Ashraf (9). His early strikes left Afghanistan struggling at 60 for four, and from there, Zimbabwe maintained control.

Muzarabani dismissed Bahir Shah (32), Khalil Gurbaz (6), and Zia Ur Rahman Sharifi (0). His bounce and movement off the pitch suffocated the Afghan batters.

Earlier, Ben Curran anchored Zimbabwe’s innings with a fine knock of 121 off 256 balls, while Sikandar Raza scored 65 off 88 with Nicholas Welch adding 49. Their efforts lifted Zimbabwe to a strong total of 359, giving the bowlers a big cushion.

When Afghanistan came in to bat, Ngarava struck in his first spell to remove Malik and Zadran, while Muzarabani kept the pressure from the other end. Tanaka Chivanga also chipped in with two for 40 from 11 overs, taking out Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Afsar Zazai to seal the visitors’ collapse.

The victory is Zimbabwe’s third win by an innings in their Test history. The previous two came against Pakistan in 1995 at the Harare Sports Club, and against Bangladesh in 2001 at Bulawayo.