Unfancied Zimbabwe face stiff challenge
Sri Lanka ended their dismal run in ODIs, as they defeated Zimbabwe by 5 wickets on Sunday. The Chevrons will take on Bangladesh in their next game in the tri-nation series on Tuesday.
Zimbabwe were handed a humiliating defeat by Bangladesh in their 1st ODI in the tri-nation series. The hosting nation defeated them by 8 wickets in that encounter. Zimbabwe then mounted a comeback with a 12-run victory over Sri Lanka but fell to five-wicket defeat after the frenetic top-order collapse against the same opponents in their next game.
Bangladesh, on the other hand, are pretty confident and have retained their good run in ODIs at home with two bonus-point wins in two matches. They have already reached the final of the series with two matches in hand.
After restricting Zimbabwe to 170 runs and chasing it successfully, they posted a mammoth total of 320 runs in their next game against Sri Lanka on Friday. However, with their splendid bowling, they successfully confined the island nation to 157 runs to register a 163-run victory.
Zimbabwe will need a lot of good work from their batting line-up if they desire to beat the Tigers. Masakadza, Taylor, and Raza will have to stand firm in front of the Bangladeshi bowling attack and stitch some good partnerships.
Graeme Cremer understands the importance of the next game as that will be a must-win for them if they want to reach the final without further calculations. “It makes things interesting now. One of us [Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe] has to beat Bangladesh to get into the final. It is quite nice for the viewers. I just hope it is us, come final day,” he said during the post-match presentation on Sunday.
Bangladesh can rely on their senior cricketers like Mashrafe, Shakib, Tamim, Mushfiq and Mahmudullah in the next match. These players know how to turn things around in their favor during tough situations. The Tigers’ bowling attack led by Mashrafe has done its job brilliantly in the last two games. They did not concede more than 200 runs in any of those matches.
Bangladesh are expected to make a change in their squad ahead of the next clash, while the Zimbabwean playing XI will probably remain the same as the team that featured against Sri Lanka in the last game. Sunzamul Islam is expected to replace Mohammad Saifuddin due to Zimbabwe’s weakness against left-arm spin.
Bangladesh have the upper hand in their head to head meetings with Zimbabwe, as they managed 48 wins in 68 ODIs including 9 wins in the last 9 clashes between the two teams.
A full game is expected to take place in Mirpur, as the weather forecast promises a bright and sunny day. The team batting second are likely to face difficulties in scoring runs on the pitches at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium.
Bangladesh (Probable XI): Tamim Iqbal, Anamul Haque, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim(wk), Mahmudullah, Sabbir Rahman, Mashrafe Mortaza(c), Nasir Hossain, Sunzamul Islam, Rubel Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman
Zimbabwe (Probable XI): Hamilton Masakadza, Solomon Mire, Craig Ervine, Brendan Taylor(wk), Sikandar Raza, Malcolm Waller, Peter Moor, Graeme Cremer(c), Kyle Jarvis, Tendai Chatara, Blessing Muzarabani
