Ben Curran scored his maiden Test century to put Zimbabwe on top on day two (October 21) of the one-off match against Afghanistan in Harare.
Opting to field, Zimbabwe bowled out Afghanistan for 127 in 32.3 overs. The hosts' standout performer was Brad Evans, who, in only his second Test match, starred with a maiden five-wicket haul. Evans finished with figures of 5-22, supported by Blessing Muzarabani (3-47).
Then with the bat, Ben Curran ensured that Zimbabwe didn’t squander the early advantage and went on to smash his maiden Test hundred. He batted patiently, facing 217 balls to reach the landmark. Playing in his eighth Test, this was also his first 50-plus score since 68 against the same opposition on his debut a year ago in Bulawayo.
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Afghanistan got a sniff when they reduced Zimbabwe to 165-4, but Sikandar Raza counter-attacked in a 99-run stand with Curran before falling for an 88-ball 65. Curran eventually fell for 121 off 256, including 15 fours. At tea, Zimbabwe were 302-6 after 89.4 overs, leading by 175 runs.
One-off Test, Zimbabwe vs Afghanistan
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Ben Curran scores his second hundred for Zimbabwe
This was his second international hundred, having struck an unbeaten match-winning 118 against Ireland in an ODI in February. He followed that with scores of 70 and 79 against Sri Lanka in August, indicating his introduction to the 50-over format has been comparatively swift.
With 340 runs, Curran has drawn level with Neil Johnson for the most ODI runs by a Zimbabwe batter after eight innings, and he boasts a superior average of 48.57 to Johnson's 42.50.
Ben is the brother of England internationals Sam and Tom Curran. Their father Kevin Curran 11 ODIs for Zimbabwe across the 1983 and 1987 World Cups and later served as the national team's head coach from 2005 to 2007. Ben has also played for Northamptonshire, the same club his father used to represent.
Image Credit: X/Zimbabwe Cricket
