Bangladesh v Zimbabwe, 1st T20I - Zimbabwe's winless run in Bangladesh continues
After winning their fifth home ODI series in a row, Bangladesh took a 1-0 lead in the two-match T20I series as they beat Zimbabwe by four wickets in Mirpur. The bowlers did the job for the hosts as they restricted Zimbabwe to just 131 in 19.3 overs.
Bangladesh replaced two of their players from the ODI squad – Anamul Haque and T20 debutant Jubair Hossain came in place of Imrul Kayes and Arafat Sunny. Zimbabwe also made a couple of changes to their squad that played in the third ODI. Tendai Chisoro and Neville Madziva replaced Taurai Muzarabani and Chamu Chibhabha for the visitors.
Bangladesh: Tamim Iqbal, Anamul Haque, Liton Das, Mahmudullah, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Sabbir Rahman, Nasir Hossain, Mashrafe Mortaza (c), Jubair Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Al-Amin Hossain.
Zimbabwe: Regis Chakabva, Craig Ervine, Sean Williams, Elton Chigumbura (c), Malcolm Waller, Sikandar Raza, Graeme Cremer, Tinashe Panyangara, Luke Jongwe, Neville Madziva, Tendai Chisoro.
Winning the toss, Bangladesh chose to field and their bowlers responded well as they restricted almost all the Zimbabwe batsmen to low scores. All bowlers used by the hosts picked up wickets, with pace bowlers Mashrafe Mortaza, Al-Amin Hossain and Mustafizur Rahman picking up two wickets each. Debutant Jubair also picked up a couple of wickets.
None of the Zimbabwe batsmen except for Malcolm Waller had answers to the Bangladeshi bowling attack. Man-of-the-match, Waller seemed like he was playing on a different surface as he scored a well-made 68 off just 31 balls. His innings included four fours and six sixes.
Only Craig Ervine and Sean Williams were the other batsmen who reached double figures for the visitors. At one point of time, it looked like Zimbabwe would reach a score fo 150+ when they were 105/4 in the 15th over before Ervine lost his wicket.
In response, Bangladesh chased down the mediocre total with 14 balls to spare. However, the chase was not without any hurdles as they lost six wickets in the process. Chisoro was the pick of the bowlers for Zimbabwe as we picked up two wickets for 15 runs in his four overs, with one being a wicket-maiden.
Opener Tamim Iqbal top-scored for Bangladesh as he scored 31 off 28 balls. Captain Mashrafe Mortaza and all-rounder Mahmudullah made sure that the hosts crossed the finishing line without losing their way.
#BANvZIM Zim 131 all out in an innings that Waller broke records. Time to defend #ZimTurnUp pic.twitter.com/Gv3fuObqgR
— Zimbabwe Cricket (@ZimCricketv) November 13, 2015
Scorecard:
Bangladesh won the toss and elected to field
Zimbabwe batting:
| Batsman | Runs (Balls) |
| Sikandar Raza | 4 (3) |
| Regis Chakbva | 0 (8) |
| Sean Williams | 15 (21) |
| Elton Chigumbura | 0 (1) |
| Craig Ervine | 20 (31) |
| Malcolm Waller | 68 (31) |
| Luke Jongwe | 0 (5) |
| Neville Madziva | 1 (3) |
| Tendai Chisoro | 7* (10) |
| Graeme Cremer | 3 (4) |
| Tinashe Panyangara | 4 (3) |
| Total | 131 (19.3 overs) |
Bangladesh bowling:
| Bowler | Overs | Runs | Wickets |
| Mashrafe Mortaza | 4 | 20 | 2 |
| Al-Amin Hossain | 4 | 20 | 2 |
| Mustafizur Rahman | 3.3 | 16 | 2 |
| Nasir Hossain | 3 | 29 | 1 |
| Mahmudullah | 3 | 18 | 1 |
| Jubair Hossain | 2 | 20 | 2 |
Bangladesh batting:
| Batsman | Runs (Balls) |
| Tamim Iqbal | 31 (28) |
| Anamul Haque | 1 (2) |
| Sabbir Rahman | 18 (16) |
| Mushfiqur Rahim | 2 (5) |
| Nasir Hossain | 16 (12) |
| Mahmudullah | 22* (21) |
| Liton Das | 17 (12) |
| Mashrafe Mortaza | 15* (12) |
| Total | 136/6 (17.4 overs) |
Zimbabwe bowling:
| Bowler | Overs | Runs | Wickets |
| Tinashe Panyangara | 3 | 25 | 0 |
| Neville Madziva | 3 | 24 | 0 |
| Luke Jongwe | 1.4 | 24 | 0 |
| Tendai Chisoro | 4 | 15 | 2 |
| Graeme Cremer | 4 | 29 | 3 |
| Sean Williams | 2 | 15 | 0 |