Bangladesh VS Zimbabwe
1st Match Played at Harare Sports Club, Zimbabwe (16 July 2021)
Scorecard:
Bangladesh 276/9 (Liton K Das 102, Afif Hossain 45, Mahmudullah Riad 33, Mehidy Miraj 26, Shakib Al Hasan 19, Mohammad Mithun 19, Luke Jongwe 3/51, Blessing Muzarabani 2/47, Richard Ngarava 2/61)
Zimbabwe 121 All Out in 28.5 Overs (Regis Chakava 54, Bredan Taylor 24, Don Myers 18, Shakib Al Hasan 5/30)
Bangladesh Won by 155 Runs
Player of The Match: Liton K Das.
Brilliant well-paced hundred by Liton K Das (102) and milestone setting 5 wickets haul by ace all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan (5/30) led Bangladesh commence the ODI series with a bang. Shakib became the highest wicket taker for Bangladesh overtaking Mashrafi and Liton reestablished his position as reliable top order Bangladesh batsman.
Earlier, a combination of excellent swings bowling of juicy wicket and inept batting by Bangladesh top order injured team tigers after put in to bat. Tamim, Shakib, Mithun and Mosdaddeq were blown away. Patient Liton (102) and crisis man Mahmudullah (33) steered Tigers out of troubled water with a brilliant 93 runs 5th wicket partnership. First Liton and Afif and finally Afif and Miraj tweeted well posting an impressive 276/9 in allotted 50 Overs. Champion all-rounder Shakib then mesmerized Zimbabwe with his crafty left arm spin taking 5/30. Home team was bundled out for 121 losing huge by 155 runs.
Bangladesh had to play without two of their mainstays. Mushfiqur Rahim had to return home for staying beside his COVID infected parents, Mustafiz was ruled out unfit with his injured ankle. Under cloudy sky on a lively wicket Taylor had no hesitation to put Bangladesh into bat. Home team pacers Muzarabani , Chatara and company expertly exploiting the condition hurt the team tigers . Tamim had no clue to a fast-rising delivery of Muzabari nicking behind for nought. Shakib looked tentative and perished scoring a brisk 19. Mithun (19) and Mosaddeq (5) also looked novice against quality bowling. At 4/74 in the 19th over Bangladesh was looking down the barrel. Liton K Das withered the storm from the other hand while his partners were perishing. Bangladesh’s crisis man Mahmudullah Raid joined him. The two again combined well and bravely steered Bangladesh through troubled water. Raid’s presence led Liton recover composure. His was a brilliantly paced innings a great 102 under testing condition. Raid’s 33 may sound small but considering the condition when he appeared at the wicket it was another mission accomplished. Two youngsters Afif (45) and Mehidy (26) also contributed towards a very impressive score of 276/9 which at one stage appeared beyond imagination. Zimbabwe for lack of depth in their bowling failed to keep the momentum going.
Bangladeshi pacers Taskin and Saifuddin also made early inroads into Zimbabwe top order removing both the openers by the 5th over. Then on it was yet another Shakib show. Home team batsmen had no clue how to deal with his accurate left arm spin. His 5/30 destroyed them completely. The innings was wrapped up for mere 121 in 28.5 overs. Bangladesh won huge by 155 runs.
Bangladesh still has some issues. It was possible to recover against Zimbabwe having limited bowling resource. It could not possible against major teams. Bangladesh looks ordinary against quality pace bowling on bouncy moving wicket. Top order batsmen have to deal with new ball on helpful pitches much more skillfully. Team manage must reconsider slotting Shakib at number three. He appears completely out of touch. Dropping him to number 5 for a while could be ideal. Let his recoup his gears and champion batsman needs only a long innings to rediscover his best.
BDST: 1134 HRS, JUL 17, 2021
SMS
