Nov 14 (Reuters) - Afghanistan spinner Naseer Khan Maroofkhil dazzled on his test debut in Sharjah, claiming seven wickets in Zimbabwe's first innings to finish one short of equalling the record for the most wickets taken by a bowler in a test innings on debut.
While he narrowly missed the eight-wicket mark, the 20-year-old played a pivotal role in restricting Zimbabwe to 339 after the visitors made a steady start to the contest.
An eighth wicket would have seen Maroofkhil become the first Afghan bowler to equal the debut-innings test record, which is currently shared by eight players.
Openers Innocent Kaia (96) and Ben Curran (44) laid the foundation, with Kaia falling agonisingly short of a century.
Zimbabwe had looked comfortable at 200-1 before Kaia's dismissal triggered a collapse, with the middle order slipping to 212-4 as Maroofkhil seized control of the innings and left Zimbabwe struggling at 250-5 by stumps on day one.
Zimbabwe resumed on day two with Brendan Taylor unbeaten on 96 and hoping to build on his overnight score.
The veteran compiled 119 off 217 balls, his second century of the series and eighth of his test career, but Maroofkhil struck again to remove him and tighten Afghanistan's grip on the contest. Zimbabwe lost their last nine wickets for 139 runs.
With the opening match of the two-test series ending in a draw, both teams will be eager to push for victory in Sharjah.
(Reporting by Suramya Kaushik in Bengaluru; Editing by Ken Ferris)
