Shahidi, Asghar tones among records Afghanistan register in 2nd test

KABUL (Pajhwok): Holding its command in the day three of the second test against Zimbabwe in United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan makes a number of national and international records.

Hashmatullah Shahidi (200*) became the first Afghanistan player to score double century in Test cricket.

Ashar Afghan briefly held the record for the highest individual score for Afghanistan with his 164 before Shahidi overtook him. Before Thursday, Rahmat Shah’s 102 against Bangladesh in the 2019 Chattogram was Afghanistan’s only hundred in their first five Tests.

307 Partnership runs between Shahidi and Asghar for the fourth wicket, the highest for any wicket for Afghanistan.

Their previous highest was 139 between Ihsanullah and Rahmat for the second wicket against Ireland in 2019.

Number of partnerships in Test cricket in the UAE higher than Shahidi and Asghar’s 307.

The South African pair of Graeme Smith and AB de Villiers had added 338 for the fifth wicket against Pakistan in 2013.

The 307-run stand between Shahidi and Asghar is also the third-highest partnership for any wicket in Test cricket against Zimbabwe.

Countries before Afghanistan with a triple-century partnership and 500-plus total in their first ten Test matches. The previous record for the fewest Tests required by a team for a 300-plus partnership was 16 matches by Pakistan, while Zimbabwe, with 544/4 in only their 11th match, held the record for the fewest Tests for breaching the 500-run milestone.

Matches Afghanistan took to record their first individual double-century in Test cricket, the joint-fewest by any team. West Indies had also got their maiden Test double-centurion in their sixth match when Clifford Roach struck 209 against England in 1930.

2016 Last instance of No. 4 and No. 5 batsmen scoring 150-plus runs in the same Test innings before Shahidi and Asghar. The Indian duo of Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane had scored 211 and 188 respectively against New Zealand in the first-ever Test at the Holkar stadium in Indore.

JHK

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