Bangladesh has beaten Zimbabwe by 121 runs in the 1st one day match of 3 match series. Winning the toss, Zimbabwe put Bangladesh in to bat. But, Bangladeshi experienced openers made the decision wrong. The scored sixty odd runs in the opening pair.
Ziaur Rahman was the pick of the man who took 5 wickets for 30 runs in his bowling spell to make Zimbabwe all out within 148 runs.
Earlier, Nasir Hossain almost single-handedly gave Bangladesh a competitive total in the first ODI, lifting the visitors to 269 for 8 after they had slipped to 94 for 4 despite Zimbabwe’s poor discipline with the ball.
All the top batsmen gave away their wickets through soft dismissals, poor calling or having a slog later in the innings. Shingi Masakadza was the biggest beneficiary, taking four wickets for 51 runs.
It was a frustrating morning session for the home side as they gave away 32 extras, including 18 wides. Nasir’s knock was the only quality element of the innings. His 67-ball 68 rescued Bangladesh from major embarrassment, especially as this was the first completely batsman-friendly pitch on tour. Despite the middle-order collapse, Nasir batted with dominance, finding boundaries regularly. He struck the ball very well, piercing the off-side field from the start.
His energy at the crease mattered in the fifth and sixth wicket partnerships with Mominul Haque, someone still trying to get into grips with the one-day game, and Mahmudullah, an out of touch batsman. Nasir struck seven fours and a six, particularly going after Prosper Utseya. He scored 37 off 32 balls faced from the offspinner, hitting him for four boundaries and the six over long-on.
It was the Mominul-Nasir partnership that re-established Bangladesh’s footing in the match. They added 76 runs for the fifth wicket, in the 14.3 overs they batted. Mominul fed Nasir much of the strike as he dropped anchor. He struck three boundaries in his 66-ball 38, which was probably slightly slower than what his team desired. The partnership was led by Nasir, as he counterattacked the Zimbabwe bowlers, though it was not too difficult against poor line and lengths.
The counterattack was much required, especially after two of the senior batsmen fell in the 22nd over. Captain Mushfiqur Rahim under-edged to the wicketkeeper after chasing a wide one outside offstump from Shingi. Three balls later, Shakib Al Hasan was duped by Mominul’s poor calling: after he tapped the ball on the offside, Mominul initially called him for the single but stopped him midway through the run. Shakib slipped and before he could trun, and Malcolm Waller hit the stumps direct with an underarm throw.
It changed the complexion of the game as the visitors slipped from 65 for 0 to 94 for 4 in the space of eight overs. Tamim Iqbal and Mohammad Ashraful added those 65 runs for the first wicket before Tamim was caught down the legside off Shingi in the 14th over. He made 31 off 49 balls with four boundaries and his dismissal would have been hugely disappointing for his team. It was a bad delivery, which he should have clipped past the wicketkeeper rather than being caught.
Ashraful too got out poorly, getting caught at deep square-leg in Shingi’s next over. Ashraful had crashed his fourth boundary just the ball before but then he flicked into Prosper Utseya’s lap as he ran across the deep field.He made 29 off 41 balls.
Shingi completed his third four-wicket haul in ODIs after he clean bowled Mahmudullah. The beleaguered batsman came out at No. 7 to make 36 off 38 balls with three fours, key to Bangladesh’s 88 runs in the final ten overs.
Zimbabwe, who chose to bowl, fielded a very different batting line-up to the one they played in their last ODI. Debutant Sikandar Raza, Sean Williams and Elton Chigumbura were among seven changes in their side.
Bangladesh made four changes, with Shakib, Shafiul Islam and Robiul Islam vital to their bowling stocks. Robiul is making his ODI debut while Shafiul is returning from a stomach muscle injury. Shakib is playing his first ODI since March last year.
