Bangladesh 143 (Tanzid 52, Soumya 41, Zhongwe 3-20) Zimbabwe 138 (Campbell 31, Shakib 4-35, Mustafizur 3-19) 5 points
Zimbabwe again came close to Bangladesh’s total but failed to complete it properly. This time in Dhaka, Bangladesh defeated them by 5 runs and extended their lead in the T20I series to 4-0. Tailenders Wellington Masakadza and Blessing Muzarabani, who had huge hits near the end, had everyone excited and on edge, depending on which side you supported.
send a leaflet to bangladesh
Tanzid bowled almost all by himself in the powerplay. He reached 40 off 27 balls with seven fours, leaving Soumya with little to do at the other end. Soumya faced just nine balls during the powerplay and got her chance in the next two overs. He back-sweeped Brian Bennett in the seventh and then hoisted Chong Yue over covers.
Large collapse immediately after the large stand
Both openers fell in the 12th over when Johnathan Campbell took a good catch to remove Tanzid and were 41 for lbw when Soumya missed Jongwe’s slow yorker. Despite the solid platform, the rest of the batsmen simply did not give the big crowd a chance. A chance to cheer for the rest of the inning.
Towhid Hridoy, who has been man-of-the-match in the last two matches, pushed Sikandar Raza towards deep square leg and was well caught by Bennett. Bennett came into action with his off-spin in the next over. He got the ball to sneak past Shakib’s bat and pad with the first ball before Najmul Hossain Shanto bowled a tossed delivery off the last ball.
Richard Ngarava removed Jaker Ali in the 17th over before Rishad and Taskin were confused. Taskin tried to get out of the crease, but Rishad sent him back, pointing at the midwicket fielder. But by then it was already too late, and Taskin was unable to return to his fold in time.
Jongwe, Ngarava and Muzarabani took the last three wickets. However, in the last over, Zimbabwe missed the opportunity to get eliminated. When Bangladesh’s last pair, Tanvir Islam and Mustafizur, attempted to score an extra point from an overthrow, Mustafizur fell far short in the non-striking side. But Campbell could not hit the ball on the stumps, greatly enhancing the enjoyment of the packed house.
a familiar struggle
In the chase, Zimbabwe once again failed to get off to a good start. Bennett was unable to replicate his bowling efficiency with the bat when he fell in the first over. Taskin led him to a hurried pull shot and Shakib took the catch on mid-on. Sikandar Raza, promoted to number three, hit four boundaries in his first two overs but lasted only till the fourth over. With Raza on 17, Taskin got rid of him with a long ball that uprooted his middle stump.
Tadiwanashe Marumani, who hit Shakib for 24 in the third over, followed Raza back to the dugout in the fifth over. When Marumani missed a slog sweep attempt, Shakib trapped him lbw. When Madande missed a reverse sweep in the 10th over, Rishad got him out for 12.
Campbell leads brief resistance
Bangladesh missed two chances after leveling with Zimbabwe in the bottom of the 10th inning. But Hridoy dropped Campbell on the 12th hole and Jaker shed Ryan Burl’s skier on the 1st hole. The two combined to pick up 20 runs from Tanzim Hasan in the 13th over. Campbell hit a six and a four before Burl’s clip sent the ball high over the stands over square leg.
But their brief resistance ended when Mustafizur bowled the 15th over for two strikes. Soumya took a good running catch at long on to end Burl’s stay in the 19th over. Jongwe guided the second ball to Rishad, who finished at 94 for 6. Shakib removed Campbell in the 17th over and Shanto took the skier in mid-on. .
Masakadza keeps things interesting.
Just as Campbell fell, Masakadza hit Shakib for a four and a six. However, Tanzim got the match back with six runs in the 18th over, while Mustafizur gave away just seven runs in his second over and also removed Akram.
Tanzid, who took a good catch to remove Akram, dropped an easier chance from Masakadza off the first ball of the last over. Muzarabani next bowled a big six, but as Muzarabani advanced, Shakib cleverly bowled him wide and Jaker completed the stumps. Ngarava bowled the next ball to relieve the home crowd.
Mohammad Isam is ESPNcricinfo’s Bangladesh correspondent. @isam84
