Captain Craig Ervine led the way with a career-best 200 not out, his maiden double century in Test cricket, anchoring an innings that saw Zimbabwe pile on the runs across five days of batting dominance.

The achievement marks the first time in the 148-year history of Test cricket that a team has passed 500 in each innings of the same match, a milestone confirmed by the International Cricket Council.

Ervine, who resumed the final day on 167, moved to his double hundred with a boundary through mid-wicket and celebrated by raising his bat to the dressing room before the captains shook hands on a draw.

Afghanistan's bowlers toiled across both innings, with their attack conceding more than 1,000 runs for the match, but the tourists showed resilience in their own first innings to avoid the follow-on.

The draw leaves the two-match series level at 0-0, with the second Test scheduled to begin on Friday at the same venue.

Zimbabwe's batting depth was on full display, with centuries also recorded by Sean Williams and Sikandar Raza in the first innings, while the lower order contributed valuable runs in the second.

Ervine said the team had spoken about batting long and building a platform, adding that the record was a by-product of their discipline rather than a pre-match target.

Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi acknowledged the difficulty of bowling on a flat surface but praised his side's fight in the first innings to keep the match alive.