Rahmat Shah registers highest Test score for Afghanistan

Afghanistan batter Rahmat Shah has slammed the highest individual score for his country in Test cricket. He achieved this feat on day three of the first Test against Zimbabwe at the Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo. He went past Hashmatullah Shahidi, who scored an unbeaten 200, incidentally against Zimbabwe, in Abu Dhabi in 2021.

Rahmat is also just the second Afghanistan player after Shahidi to score a double century in Tests and the only player from his nation to have multiple hundreds in the format. In the ongoing Test, Shahidi and Rahmat have also broken the record for Afghanistan's highest Test partnership. Previously, Shahidi and Asghar Afghan had put on 307 for the fourth wicket against Zimbabwe in Abu Dhabi three years ago. 

This partnership is now worth 361, and they will look to add to it when play resumes on day four.

The duo got together when Abdul Malik was dismissed with the score reading 64/2. Since then, Shahidi and Rahmat have not only resurrected the innings but have also put Afghanistan in a commanding position.

As things stand, this is also the second-highest partnership against Zimbabwe in Test cricket behind Marvan Atapattu and Kumar Sangakkara's 438-run stand for the second wicket in 2004 in Bulawayo. 

Shahidi and Rahmat are also the first-ever Afghanistan pair to bat out an entire day in Tests. Only seven other pairs have achieved this feat since 2000 - the last of which was in 2019.

Rahmat ended day three unbeaten on 231, while skipper Shahidi will resume day four unbeaten on 141 as Afghanistan end day three on 425/2 - already their second-highest total in Tests.

In their first innings, Zimbabwe posted a mammoth 586 — their highest-ever total in Test cricket — thanks to tons from Sean Williams (154), Craig Ervine (104), and Brian Bennett (110*).