Series win against Zimbabwe for Bangladesh

The Bangladesh-Zimbabwe series in Chattogram consisted of three matches. Bangladesh bowled first in the first two matches, while in the third match, they has to bat first. However, regardless of the change, Bangladesh secured victories in all three matches, ensuring a series win with two matches in hand in Dhaka. 

Bangladesh didn't have any dissatisfaction with their bowling performance in the first two matches. However, their batting was a bit of a concern, especially with the failure of the top order. The scenario remained unchanged in the third match as well, with no significant contributions from the top three batsmen.

Today, at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram, Bangladesh lost the toss and opted to bat first. Litton Das and Tanzid Hasan Tamim opened the innings and scored 22 runs together. Litton Das got out after scoring 12 runs off 15 balls. Tanzid Hasan Tamim couldn't accelerate much, scoring 21 runs off 22 balls with one four and one six.

Among the fall of the two openers, Najmul Hossain Shanto returned after scoring 6 runs off 4 balls. He was bowled by Sikandar Raza.

After losing three wickets for 60 runs, Towhid Hridoy and Jaker Ali Anik added 87 runs for the fourth wicket. Towhid Hridoy scored his maiden fifty in international T20s, scoring 57 runs off 38 balls with 3 fours and 2 sixes. He anchored the innings with a strike rate of 150.00.

Jaker Ali Anik was out after scoring 44 runs off 34 balls with an equal number of boundaries. Blessing Muzarabani took two wickets in the same over, being the most successful bowler for Zimbabwe. He took 3 wickets conceding 14 runs in 4 overs. Faraz Akram and Sikandar Raza also took a wicket each.

Mahmudullah Riyad scored 9 runs off 4 balls, and Rishad Hossain scored 6 runs off 4 balls before remaining unbeaten. Bangladesh's innings ended at 165 for 5 wickets in 20 overs.

Zimbabwe's batsmen didn't show much promise either. They managed to score only 33 runs in the powerplay overs, losing 3 wickets.

Afterward, the Zimbabwean captain, Sikandar Raza, couldn't provide much hope. He couldn't score more than 1 run after playing 5 balls and got caught by Jaker Ali Anik off the bowling of Rishad Hossain.

Zimbabwe lost 8 wickets before reaching 100 runs. However, in this match, Faraz Akram, replacing Richard Ngarava, found an opportunity at the 10th spot and reduced the margin of defeat for the team.

Faraz Akram remains undefeated, scoring 34 runs from 19 balls with 2 fours and 6 sixes. Blessing Mujarabani exits the field unbeaten after scoring 9 runs off 4 balls, including 2 fours. Despite losing 9 wickets in 20 overs, Zimbabwe manages to score 156 runs but faces defeat by 9 runs in the match.

On Bangladesh's side, Mohammad Saifuddin takes 3 wickets, while Rishad Hossain claims 2 wickets. Tanvir Islam, Taskin Ahmed, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, and Mahmudullah Riyad each grab 1 wicket.

The remaining 2 matches of the series will be played at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur on May 10th and 12th.