Craig Ervine made 206 not out and Wessly Madhevere a maiden Test hundred as Zimbabwe drew the first Test with Afghanistan in Sharjah, reports ESPNcricinfo.

A result was never likely on Monday, with the pitch giving the bowlers little to attack. Zimbabwe finished on 523-5 in their second innings.

Brendan Taylor made 131 off 168 balls and Brian Bennett an unbeaten 128 in a first-innings 504, which Afghanistan answered with 514, led by Rahmat Shah’s 173.

No side in Test history had passed 500 in both innings before this match.

Mohammad Saleem bowled Bennett in the morning session, after he had gone to fifty in the day’s first over. On debut, Antum Naqvi faced 110 balls for a maiden Test fifty and found his first boundary only on his 102nd.

He and Ervine added 140 runs off 253 balls for the fifth wicket.

Zimbabwe become the first team ever to score 500+ in both innings of a Test match 🤯 #AFGvZIM https://t.co/8Ey2DmzcWY

— Cricinfo (@cricinfo) November 9, 2026

Afghanistan captain Rahmat used part-time spinners for the last two sessions and left the new ball unused, even though the old one had lost its seam. Umpire Rashid Riaz signalled a wide for a leg-side delivery as a warning against negative lines.

Madhevere went to fifty at a run a ball, then took longer to reach his hundred. Ervine reached 206 off 279 balls with 23 fours and two sixes.

Ervine also hit three boundaries in a row off Abdul Malik, two of them sixes over midwicket, and became the third oldest man to score a Test double century.

The second Test begins on Friday 13 November.

Photo: ZimCricketv/X