Afghanistan 435 (Shenwari 102, Stanikzai 93) and 249 for 5 dec (Shahzad 105*) beat Scotland 139 (Nel 36, Hassan 6-40) and 316 (Chalmers 67, Hassan 5-114) by 229 runs
Hamid Hassan followed up his six wickets in the first innings with another five in the second, as Afghanistan beat Scotland by 229 runs to go to the top of the Intercontinental Cup table. Scotland were resilient throughout the day, often forming stodgy partnerships, but in the end they fell 19.1 overs short of saving the match.
With already two wickets down, and an impossible target of 546, Scotland knew they needed to bat 96 overs to get anything from the game. Their mission started well thanks to the partnership between Ewan Chalmers and Richie Berrington. But two wickets midway into the morning session calmed Afghan nerves. Spinner Abdullah, who was making his debut, got Berrington to misjudge a full ball, trapping him plumb in front. Soon after Hamid Hassan got into the act, making his first contribution of the day, as he surprised new man Qasim Sheikh with a yorker.
The fifth wicket came just before lunch, when Chalmers offered a catch to Samiullah off the bowling of Abdullah. Abdullah had been virtually unseen in the first three days of the match, but he stepped up when his team needed him to. He will have gained a lot of confidence with those two important wickets.
The afternoon session brought more stodgy defending from the Scots. Moneeb Iqbal and Majid Haq, knowing they had no chance of winning, solidly defended, and were looking comfortable. So when Afghanistan needed a wicket, it was no surprise who broke the stand. Yes, it was Hamid Hassan, getting another lbw decision to remove Haq. Four more wickets needed at this stage.
Wicket number 7 came just before Tea. Medium-pacer Ashraf, another one who had a quiet game, picked up his first wicket of the match, as an lbw decision went Afghanistan’s way again. Now three wickets needed with 39 overs left after Tea.
Scotland managed to get safely through the first half-hour, to further frustrate and worry Afghanistan players and fans. Leg-spinner Samiullah, though, a century maker in the the first innings, relived some tension when he got Simon Smith lbw.
The final two wickets came quickly, and fittingly, it was Hamid Hassan who got those wickets. He bowled Gordon Drummond, and then forced Matthew Parker to edge to Mohammad Shahzad, sparking wild celebration from the Afghan players.
It was a brilliant performance from Afghanistan, dominating all four days in foreign conditions in Scotland. The win should have come early if the follow-on had been enforced, or if they declared sooner instead of waiting for Shahzad’s 100. But thanks to a special performance from Hamid Hassan – 11 wickets in all- it didn’t really matter.
