Innings Zimbabwe 287 (Raza 85, Masvaure 65, Rashid 4-138, Hamza 3-73) trail Afghanistan 545 for 4 dec (Hashmatullah 200*, Afghan 164) by 258 runs

Afghanistan have asked Zimbabwe to follow on after bowling the visiting side out for 287 on the third evening after declaring on a formidable 545 for 4 on the second day. Half-centuries from Sikandar Raza (85) and Prince Masvaure (65) were not enough for Zimbabwe to get Afghanistan to bat again right away in Abu Dhabi, as there weren't too many other contributions of note. They lost four wickets for 45 runs in the hour after tea, with Rashid Khan taking 4 for 138 as he and Amir Hamza found turn on a pitch that remained good to bat on.

Before the rush of wickets after tea, a double-strike by left-arm seamer Sayed Shirzad and wickets from Hamza and Khan left Zimbabwe six down at the end of the second session.

Zimbabwe had reached lunch having lost openers Kevin Kasuza and Masvaure but were still in a relatively strong position. That changed in the second over after the break when Shirzad took two wickets in two balls to leave them reeling. He rushed Sean Williams into a pull shot, which the Zimbabwe captain could only top-edge to midwicket, and then removed Wesley Madhevere for his second golden duck of the series. Shirzad found Madhevere's outside edge with a delivery that angled in, leaving the 20-year-old without a run in Test cricket so far.

Shirzad's burst came after a poor spell in the morning, when his four overs cost 22 runs as Kasuza plucked boundaries and forced Asghar Afghan to use spin from both ends. Offspinner Javed Ahmadi found sharp turn early on but the breakthrough only came when Khan was introduced. After working his way to 41, picking the googly and building a 91-run opening stand with Masvaure, Kasuza reached for a wide ball that he could have left and was caught behind. His dismissal meant Zimbabwe have gone without a century opening stand in almost ten years, since August 2011.

Tarisai Musakanda joined Masvaure and saw him to his third Test fifty, which came with a quick single that almost led to a run-out. Though he played well, things were never entirely easy for Masvaure. His neglect in covering his stumps resulted in him being bowled when he went forward to turn a Hamza ball legside and was bowled.

Like Masvaure, Musakanda also went on to a career-best score and was particularly severe on Khan's short balls. He hit six over long-on and then pulled Khan through midwicket for four. But ultimately, Khan had the last laugh. He trapped Musakanda lbw with a googly that hit him in front of middle and off. In the next over, a Hamza delivery that turned in from the rough clipped Ryan Burl's leg stump to dismiss him for a duck and leave Zimbabwe on 189 for 6.

Raza then added 53 for the seventh wicket with Regis Chakabva, and though he went on to score a solid 85 himself, there was not much support available for him after Chakabva's fall, meaning Zimbabwe ended up well short, with Afghanistan in with a great shot of squaring the series.