Riding
on two centuries from Imrul Kayes and Soumya Sarkar, the host team chased down Zimbabwe’s
modest target of 287 runs with 47 balls remaining at hand.
Coming
to bat, Bangladesh lost the wicket of Liton Das in the first ball of the
innings, which put the Tigers backward. But both Imrul Kayes and Soumya Sarkar skillfully
guided the team towards victory with a record breaking 220-run partnership
in the second-wicket, surpassing the previous record of 217-run partnership
between Tamim and Shakib against West Indies this year. For Bangladesh, it is
the second-highest partnership for any wicket.
Imrul Kayes, who scored 115 runs off 112 balls, was caught by Chigumbura at deep while trying to play big against Wellington Masakadza. In his fourth ODI century, the left-handed opener smashed 10 fours and two sixes. With two hundreds and one fifty- 144, 90 and 115 runs- he took his run tally to 349, which made him the highest run getter in a three-match ODI series. Earlier this record was under Tamim Iqbal who scored 312 runs against Pakistan in 2015.
Soumya
Sarkar, who was recalled to the squad for the third ODI, made his second ODI
century. He scored 117 runs off 92 balls, including nine fours and six sixes, before
being dismissed by Hamilton Masakadza.
Batting
first, Zimbabwe scored 286 runs losing five wickets. Sean Williams was the
highest run scorer for his team. He struck 10 fours and one six to score 129
runs playing 143 balls and completed his second ODI hundred. Brendan Taylor and
Sikandar Raza also played a vital role as they scored 75 and 40 runs
respectively. At one stage, it seemed the touring team would go past the 300
mark, but due to Bangladeshi bowlers’ tight bowling at death overs, they could
not make it happen.
Nazmul
Islam took two wickets while Abu Hider and Mohammad Saifuddin got one wicket
each.
Imrul
Kayes was announced “Player of the Series” while Soumya Sarkar was named “Player
of the Match”.
Bangladesh
cricket team selectors brought three changes in the squad. They included Abu
Hider and Soumya and gave a debut to Ariful Haque. Bangladesh ODI captain Mashrafe
Bin Mortaza won the toss for the third consecutive time and decided to field
first.
Despite
the absence of two key players- Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan- due to their
respective injuries, Bangladesh cricket team did quite well in the recently
concluded ODI series. The youngsters did not let others feel the absence of
them.
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