Clinical Bangladesh Seal Series Against Zimbabwe With a Seven-wicket Win
Opener Imrul Kayes continued his rich vein of form with a well-paced 90 as Bangladesh beat Zimbabwe by seven wickets in the second One-Day International in Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chittagong to take an unassailable 2-0 lead
Opener Imrul Kayes continued his rich vein of form with a well-paced 90 as Bangladesh beat Zimbabwe by seven wickets in the second One-Day International in Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chittagong to take an unassailable 2-0 lead on Wednesday.
After Mohammad Saifuddin’s three-for had restricted Zimbabwe to 246/7 despite a 73-ball 75 by Brendan Taylor, Bangladesh openers Liton Das (83) and Kayes stitched a 148-run stand to set the perfect platform for the hosts. Mushfiqur Rahim (40*) and Mohammad Mithun (24*) then completed the formalities taking their side to a win in 44.1 overs.
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Das struck 12 fours and a six during his knock while Kayes smashed seven fours as the duo all but took the game out of the visitor’s hands early. Sikandar Raza did pick up three wickets with his off-spin but they came when the game was all but lost for Zimbabwe.
Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe Mortaza acknowledged dew in the field made their job easier.
“I think winning the toss was crucial. We knew about the dew, but it was not as much as we expected," Mortaza said.
Earlier, Taylor top-scored for Zimbabwe, who have now lost 12 consecutive ODIs to Bangladesh. They lost their captain Hamilton Masakadza (14) early after being sent it but Cephas Zhuwao (20) and Taylor kept them chugging along.
Taylor and Sean Williams (47) then stitched a 77-run stand for the third wicket before the former fell lbw to Mahmudullah. Raza came and slammed two sixes and three fours in his 61-ball 49 but the visitors failed to get the final push they desperately required scoring just 19 runs in the last five overs to fall well short of a par score.
Zimbabwe’s Masakadza lamented their inability to capitalise on a good start.
“We didn’t manage to kick on after the kind of start. Credit to Bangladeshi bowlers for starving us at the death," he said.
All-rounder Saifuddin picked up 3/45 to set up the win for the home side. He was named man of the match.
The third and final match of the series will be held at the same ground on Friday.
Brief scores: Zimbabwe 246/7 in 50 overs (Taylor 75, Raza 49, Williams 47; Saifuddin 3/45) lost to Bangladesh 250/3 in 44.1 overs (Kayes 90, Das 83; Raza 3/43) by 7 wickets.
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