||Desk Report||

Bangladesh and Zimbabwe locked horns with each other in the first clash of their three-match ODI series, on Sunday (October 21).

Winning the toss Bangladesh decided to bat first at the Sher-e-Bangla International Stadium. Their struggle to get good starts with the bat once again haunted them, as the Tigers lost two early wickets. A collapse in their batting lineup later saw Bangladesh's score become 139/6 from 137/3 as Kyle Jarvis struck thrice. Opener Imrul Kayes and Mohammad Saifuddin then rescued the hosts with the team’s highest seventh wicket ODI stand worth 127 runs.

Imrul picked up his third ODI century and ended up at 144 when Jarvis completed his four-for. Saifuddin also belted a fifty helping Bangladesh post a total of 271/8.

In reply, Zimbabwe were off to a flying start before Mustafizur Rahman earned the breakthrough for his side by uprooting opener Cephas Zhuwao’s off stump for 35 runs. The visitors then kept losing wickets at regular intervals once the Bangladesh bowlers established their grip on the match.

Both Brandon Taylor (5) and Sikandar Raza (7) fell cheaply as Nazmul Islam struck twice. Hamilton Masakadza and Craig Ervine made 20-odd runs each before returning to the pavilion, posing no threat to the opponents.

Sean Williams and Peter Moor shared a 45-run stand in an attempt to close in on the target. Mehidy, who previously dismissed Ervine, trapped Moor lbw for 26 runs in the 36th over. He then produced a run out in the next over to send the new batsman, Donald Tripiano, back to the hut. Another caught and bowled from the same bowler also saw Brandon Mavuta returning to the pavilion for 20 runs.

The biggest partnership from the Zimbabwean camp came for the ninth wicket as Sean and Jarvis added 57 runs to the total. Mahmudullah broke the partnership in the penultimate over by dimissing Jarvis for 37 runs, but Sean made sure that the Tigers couldn't bundle them out. He picked up a half-century, which certainly was not enough for the Zimbabwe team to avoid a 28-run defeat.

 

Scores