Brad Evans goes past Zimbabwe great; sets huge Test record by dismantling Afghanistan

Brad Evans celebrating his five-fer [Source: @ZimCricketv/x]

Zimbabwe fast bowler Brad Evans scripted history by dismantling Afghanistan batting line-up on Day 1 of their one-off Test match at the Harare Sports Club. Playing only the second match of his Test career and his first since February 2023, the speedster picked up five Afghanistan wickets at an expense of just 22 runs from his 9.3 overs.

Evans dismissed the likes of Hashmatullah Shahidi and Afsar Zazai before mopping up the Afghan tail for just 127 shortly after the first lunch break of the match. Through the course of his spell, the cricketer also toppled former captain Heath Streak for a rare Zimbabwe record in Test history.

Brad Evans goes past late Heath Streak

Brad Evans snared figures of 5-22 from his 9.3 overs against Afghanistan on Day 1 of their one-off Test in Harare on Monday, October 20. The speedster now holds the record of conceding the least number of runs while picking up five wickets in a single Test innings for Zimbabwe in history.

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Previously, former captain Heath Streak picked up figures of 5-27 against the West Indies at Port of Spain back in March 2000. Evans has now bested that record by five runs, and also picked up his maiden five-wicket haul in Tests in the process. Here is a look at some of the best five-wicket hauls taken by Zimbabwe bowlers in Tests.

Best figures by Zimbabwe bowlers with Test five-fers

Zimbabwe vs Afghanistan Test: Story so far…

After Brad Evans’ five-fer, Ben Curran shaped a regal 121 and Sikandar Raza scored 65 to take Zimbabwe to 359, thus attaining a huge 232-run lead over the visitors. For Afghanistan, Ziaur Rahman scalped seven wickets for 97 runs in his 32 overs.

In response, Afghanistan reached 33-1 at the time of publishing to find themselves another 199 runs behind Zimbabwe.

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