Having lost the first two ODIs and the series, it was Zimbabwe’s time to up their performance so as to win a consolation game.
Bangladesh captain, Tamim Iqbal decided to put the hosts in to bat. Brendan Taylor emphasised on scoring around 280’s by batting first and they got off to a decent start scoring 130-2 in their half innings. Regis Chakabva earned another promotion as he was asked to open the innings this time around. Taking the opportunity, the wicket-keeper batsman scored his career best 84(91) with 7 fours and a six before getting a jaffa of a delivery from Taskin Ahmed that castled his stumps.
Zimbabwe crossed the 200 mark in the 40th over and were all set to post a respectable target with 5 wickets in kitty. Sikandar Raza, who is yet another underrated cricketer of this era, once again showed his experience in finishing the inning as he brought up his 17th ODI fifty during his stay of 57(54). Apart from Raza, Ryan Burl scored a blistering half century in just 38 balls with 40 of those runs coming in boundaries. These two innings propelled Zimbabwe to a score that was just two short of 300.
Mustafizur Rahman, who returned to ODI cricket after recovering from his injury, had a good outing as he picked 3 wickets in his 10 over spell. Saifuddin who also managed to scalp 3 wickets was on the expensive side as he was belted for 87 runs in his 8 overs.
Chasing the target, Bangladesh were up for the task with solid performance from the top order which kept them ahead in the game. They managed to score 145 runs at the loss of just 1 wicket in their first half of the innings. Their premier all-rounder, who won them the match on his own in the 2nd ODI, lost his wicket soon after scoring 30 runs.
The real star performer of the day was the Bangladeshi skipper Tamim Iqbal who raced to his 14th ODI Century, consuming just 87 balls. Bangladesh were crusing in the chase with 204-2 in 34 overs before losing the two crucial wickets of Tamim and Mahmudullah off consecutive deliveries.
Nurul Hasan along with Mohammad Mithun stitched a 60-odd run partnership at the right time as Bangladesh chased the target with two overs to spare along with a lower order contribution from Afif Hossain who remained not out on 26*(17). Zimbabwe bowlers had an off day as none of their bowlers looked threatening enough to back their batsman in their quest to winning the game.
Series Stat:
Regis Chakabva topped the batting chart with 164 runs from 3 innings, while Shakib Al Hasan was the pick of the bowlers with 8 wickets in 3 games.
Shakib also won the Man of the Series for his all-round performance in all the three games.
What Next? :
Having won the series, Bangladesh would like to continue their form in the 3 T20s beginning from 22nd July.
Zimbabwe will look to show their improved performance as they are to play just for the pride having lost the opportunity to qualify for the World Cup in UAE.
Squad News for T20 Series:
Bangladesh- Tamim misses out owing to knee-injury.
Zimbabwe- Sikandar Raza will lead the side in place of Brendan Taylor who is rested. They will also be without the services of Sean Williams and Craig Ervine who aren’t a part of the T20 series.
Match: 1st T20
Date: 22nd July 2021
Time: 4pm IST
Place: Harare
Dream XI: Liton Das(c), Tamim Iqbal, Dion Myers, Tarisai Musakanda, Wesley Madhevere, Shakib Al Hasan(vc), Sikandar Raza, Luke Jongwe, Blessing Muzarabani, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam
