Twitter Reactions: Rashid Khan leads Afghanistan to memorable come-from-behind victory against Zimbabwe

Rashid Khan leads Afghanistan to memorable come-from-behind victory against Zimbabwe (Source: Afghanistan Cricket Board/X)

Victory arrived swiftly for Afghanistan on Day 5 of the second and final Test of the series against Zimbabwe at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo. With 73 runs required for the hosts and just two wickets in the tank, it was always going to be a steep challenge for them. They added no runs to their overnight score, succumbing to a 72-run defeat for Afghanistan to win the series with a 0-1 margin.

Rashid Khan ended up with a seven-wicket haul to script a victory for the ages for Afghanistan. Rashid started the day by bowling a maiden to Richard Ngarava. Ngarava perished in the very next over. A throw to the wicketkeeper’s end found the left-arm quick well short of the crease. The final nail in the coffin came in the subsequent over; the third of the day.

Zimbabwean skipper, Craig Ervine, was the last man to depart. He ended up as the highest run-scorer for his side in both innings – scoring 75 and 53, respectively. Ervine fought hard in both the innings but fell short of partners at the end. In both instances, he fell to Rashid, who ended up with 11 wickets in the game.

As for Zimbabwe, they would consider this game as a lost opportunity to script a memorable victory. After rolling over Afghanistan for 157, they had managed to gain a vital 86-run lead by the end of their first innings. However, centuries from Rahmat Shah and debutant Ismat Alam eclipsed a six-wicket haul by Blessing Muzarabani. With this, Afghanistan topped off a successful all-format tour of Zimbabwe.

Check out how X reacted to Day 5 of the second Test between ZIM and AFG: 

Great 💥💥👌👏 #AFGvsZIM https://t.co/i6d5gSVMCL

— Neel (@Neel_OG) January 6, 2025

#Afghanistan beat #Zimbabwe
2 Match #TestSeries 1-0 🇦🇫🏏

Player of the Series – #RahmatShah (2 Matches, 392 Runs, 1 Double Hundred & 1 💯) #ZIMvAFG #ZIMvsAFG #AfghanistanCricket #ZimbabweCricket #TestCricket #Cricket #CricketUpdates #CricketFever #CricketTwitter pic.twitter.com/xjof6wSepK

— Nishant Dravid (@nishantdravid73) January 6, 2025

@rashidkhan_19 you are just too good 🔥 #ZIMvsAFG

— 🆁🅾🅻🅴🆇ᶜʳⁱᶜᵏᵉᵗᵍᵉᵉᵏ (@RoshanSriram123) January 6, 2025

Congratulations @ACBofficials 🇦🇫 for winning the test series against Zimbabwe🇿🇼 👏🏻🏏🎯@ICC #AFGvsZIM

— Abhinay Thakur🍂🌠 (@Bearded_Bowler) January 6, 2025

Congratulations @ACBofficials for winning test series against Zimbabwe.
Fantastic bowling display by king @rashidkhan_19 and wonderful batting by #rahmat and #ismat alam. Afghan is top team#AFGvsZIM

— Yasir Khan (@goherRKAfghan) January 6, 2025

Rashid Khan’s magical 10-wicket haul in the 2nd Test vs Zimbabwe 🌟

Truly the GOAT of Afghanistan cricket! 💟#RashidKhan #ZIMvsAFG pic.twitter.com/QcBvHvGEfF

— 𝗦𝗮𝗺𝘆 𝗖𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗭𝗲𝗻 🏏 (@SAMYCRICK) January 5, 2025

2/1
The Afghanistan cricket team has shown the kind of dedication and determination that should be shown while playing for one’s country. #ZIMvsAFG 2nd #BulawayoTest Despite giving Zimbabwe a lead of 86 runs in the 1st innings , poor conditions like 69/5 & 136/6 in the 2nd

— गैर राजनीतिक हिंदू ,राष्ट्र प्रथम *भृगुक्षेत्र* (@ArunSin22729210) January 6, 2025

2/2
innings, #AFG batsmen took their team to a fighting score of 363. While chasing the target of 278 runs, #ZIM team was reduced to 205 runs in the 2nd innings in front of the deadly spin bowling of Rashid Khan 7/66 and thus Afghanistan team won this test by 72 runs. #ZIMvAFG pic.twitter.com/1W8KfH2gnC

— गैर राजनीतिक हिंदू ,राष्ट्र प्रथम *भृगुक्षेत्र* (@ArunSin22729210) January 6, 2025