|| Desk Report ||

The second ODI between Bangladesh and Zimbabwe started with the former winning the toss at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong. Keeping the dew-factor in mind, the Tigers decided to bowl first.

Unlike their last few matches, Bangladesh decided to bowl pacers from both ends as Mashrafe Mortaza and Mustafizur Rahman started with the ball this time.

Zimbabwe lost their first wicket in the fifth over, as soon as Mohammad Saifuddin entered the scene. The all-rounder dismissed Hamilton Masakadza for 14 runs and another change in bowling again produced success for the Tigers as Mehidy Hasan scalped a wicket in the very second over of his spell by sending Cephas Zhuwao back to the hut for 20 runs.

The Zimbabwe head-coach had stressed the necessity for the top five batters to take more responsibilities ahead of the match and despite the openers’ failure the other three batsmen certainly met the expectations, sharing good partnerships following the openers’ departure.

Brandon Taylor, after a string of sub-par performances, mounted a great comeback in this match, scoring 75 runs. He shared a 77-run stand with Sean Williams before contributing the big chunk in a 52-run partnership with Zhuwao. Mahmudullah Riyad gave his team the breakthrough by getting Taylor out.

A few overs later, Saifuddin struck again to bag the wicket of Williams, who added 47 runs to the total. Zimbabwe still had enough wickets to pose a threat to the hosts in the slog-overs. But Bangladesh’s controlled bowling kept the Chevrons from doing the damage.

Mashrafe opened his account by removing Sikandar Raza for 49 runs, exposing the important chink in Zimbabwe’s batting lineup with a few overs remaining. Peter Moor (17) and Elton Chigumbura (3) then failed to make their mark, giving their wickets to Mustafizur and Saifuddin, respectively.

Zimbabwe finished their innings with 246 runs on the board, losing seven wickets. After shining with bat in the previous game, Mohammad Saifuddin was the pick of the Bangladesh bowlers in this match, returning career-best figures of 3/45.

Coming on to chase the target, Liton Das took on the Zimbabwe bowlers while Imrul Kayes, too, kept scoring at a good rate. Both the openers took advantage of the dew factor and kept frustrating the opponents.

The two batsmen completed their half-centuries and stitched together a 148-run opening stand just to be broken by Sikandar Raza as Liton attempted a poor shot and ended up getting caught at point. The right-hander played a fine 83-run knock, facing just 77 deliveries. His innings was laced with 12 fours and a six.

The next batsman, Fazle Rahman, again failed to prove his worth as Raza struck in his next over. The newly-capped batsman was out stumped before he could open his account.

However, Kayes kept batting responsibly but missed his fourth ODI century by 10 runs as Raza registered his third scalp as soon as the southpaw entered the nervous 90s. Imrul returned to the pavilion ending a 59-run stand with Mushfiqur Rahim, which got the Tigers within touching distance of the target.

Following Imrul’s dismissal, Mushfiqur and Mohammad Mithun formed an unbeaten 39-run partnership that earned their team a 7-wicket win. Mushfiq was not out on 40 runs and Mithun finished off the match hitting a big six, with 24 runs to his name.