It was a good learning curve – Zimbabwe skipper Williams after loss to Afghanistan

Zimbabwe take lessons from Afghan loss

JOHANNESBURG, March 15 (ANA) – Following his side’s defeat to Afghanistan in the second Test in Abu Dhabi on Sunday, Zimbabwe captain Sean Williams said his side will learn from the experience.

Zimbabwe were tantalisingly close to drawing the second Test and winning the two-match series 1-0. Following on, Williams was left stranded on 151 not out after putting on an 187-run eighth wicket stand with Donald Tripiano. Tripiano fell for 95, which signalled the death rattle for Zimbabwe.

Afghanistan were left chasing 108 for victory, and though they stumbled along the way they were still able to manage a six-wicket win to level the series.

Williams said: ”We got ourselves into trouble and then we managed to fight through that.

“We got close to the top of the mountain but didn’t quite get there. It was a good learning curve and it shows what mental and physical strength you need to get through Test matches like this.”

Asghar Afghan and Hashmatullah Shahidi put Afghanistan in a strong position with their magnificent batting performances, while Rashid Khan added to Zimbabwe’s misery with 11 wickets in the match.

Although Afghanistan had expected to wrap up the match on day four, a fighting partnership between Williams and Tiripano delayed their victory by a day.

Zimbabwe began the day’s play with Williams on 106 not out and Tiripano unbeaten on 63 with a lead of eight runs and three wickets in hand.

Afghanistan started their innings on the back-foot as Muzarabani drew first blood with a wicket in the first over of the innings. But, Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmat Shah quickly brought Afghanistan back on track with a well-worked partnership of 88 runs.

Zimbabwe picked up two wickets in quick succession, but Afghanistan soon eased to comfortable victory with Rahmat Shah bringing up his half-century. – African News Agency (ANA), Editing by Michael Sherman