Bangladesh whitewash Zimbabwe in the three-match ODI series

Winning the 3rd and final ODI match by 7 wickets at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram on Friday (October 26), Bangladesh whitewashed Zimbabwe in the three-match ODI series.

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. Mushfiqur Rahim and Mohammad Mithun remained not out on 28 and 7 runs respectively. 

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. 

Scorecard- http://www.espncricinfo.com/series/18815/scorecard/1153637/bangladesh-vs-zimbabwe-3rd-odi-zimbabwe-in-bangladesh-2018-19

Source- https://www.thedailystar.net/sports/bangladesh-cricket/news/bangladesh-vs-zimbabwe-third-odi-updates-1652167

Bangladesh takes 2-0 lead beating Zimbabwe by 7 wickets

Bangladesh cricket team took a 2-0 lead of the three-match ODI series after beating Zimbabwe by 7 wickets at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong on Wednesday (October 24). 

The host team chased down Zimbabwe’s 247-run target with 5.5 overs remaining and losing only three wickets. Liton Das and Imrul Kayes opened the innings for Bangladesh. The duo made a 148-run partnership for the first wicket stand. Liton Das played a brilliant knock of 77-ball 83. The right-handed batsman struck twelve fours and one six before being caught by Donald Tiripano off SikandarRaza. Imrul Kayes became the victim of nervous nineties. He was caught out for 90 and eventually failed to score back-to-back hundreds. In his innings, he hit seven fours and one six. Fazley Mahmud, who made his ODI debut in the 1^st ODI match against Zimbabwe, got out without scoring any run. However, Mushfiqur Rahim and Mohammad Mithun remained not out on 40 and 24 runs respectively. 

All three wickets were taken by SikandarRaza. 

Bangladesh ODI skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza won the toss and invited the touring team to bat first. Brendan Taylor scored the highest run for his team. The wicketkeeper-batsman scored 75 runs from 73 deliveries with nine fours and 1 six. In his innings, he made two partnerships- a 52-run partnership with Cephas Zhuawao and then a 77-run partnership with Sean Williams. Sean Williams and Sikandar Raza scored 47 and 49 runs respectively. After them, none of the players could keep contribution with the bat. However, Bangladeshi bowlers gave their best performances in the death overs, which eventually helped them to restrict Zimbabwe to 246 taking seven wickets in their stipulated 50 overs. 

Mohammad Saifuddin took three wickets giving 45 runs in 10 overs, and for his performance he was later declared Man of the Match. Mashrafe, Mustafizur, Mehidy and Mahmudullah each took one wicket. 

Bangladeshi selectors did not make any change in the squad for the second ODI. On the other hand, Zimbabwe made one change from first ODI, brining in all-rounder Elton Chigumbura to replace Craig Ervine. 

Both Bangladesh and Zimbabwe will play their third and final ODI match in the same venue on Friday, beginning at 2:30 pm local time. 

Scorecard- http://www.espncricinfo.com/series/18815/scorecard/1153636/bangladesh-vs-zimbabwe-2nd-odi-zimbabwe-in-bangladesh-2018-19

Source-

https://www.dhakatribune.com/sport/cricket/2018/10/24/bangladesh-win-toss-ask-zimbabwe-to-bat-first

Bangladesh takes 1-0 lead, beating Zimbabwe by 28 runs

Defeating Zimbabwe by 28 runs in the first ODI match at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur, Bangladesh cricket team has taken 1-O lead in the three-match ODI series. The host nation will once again take on the touring side in the second ODI match at Zohur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium on October 24 with a hope of confirming the ODI series victory with one match remaining at hand. 

Bangladesh ODI skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza won the toss and decided to bat first. The home team could make a competitive score of 271 runs for the loss of 8 wickets, thanks to Imrul Kayes’ third ODI century and Mohammad Saifuddin’s maiden ODI half-century.

Imrul Kayes, the 31-year-old veteran left-handed opener, played his career best innings in this match. He scored 144 runs off 140 balls with 13 fours and 6 sixes, the second-highest ODI score by any Bangladeshi batsman shared with Mushfiqur Rahim who also scored the same runs against Sri Lanka in the recently concluded Asia Cup. However, the record of Bangladesh’s highest individual score in ODI is still held by Tamim Iqbal who scored 154 runs against Zimbabwe on August 16, 2009. 

Imrul Kayes on his way to scoring century got huge support from Mohammad Saifuddin who scored 50 runs from 69 balls. The duo also shared a 127-run seventh-wicket partnership, which helped the home team coming out of danger after tottering at 137 runs losing 6 wickets. Mohammad Mithun also played a useful innings of 40-ball 37, including one four and three sixes. He also made a 71-run partnership with Kayes in the fourth wicket stand. 

For Zimbabwe, Kyle Jarvis, Tendai Chatara and Brandon Mavuta took 4, 3 and 1 wicket respectively.

Coming to chase Bangladesh’s target, Zimbabwe could manage to score 243 runs losing 9 wickets in their stipulated overs. Sean Williams remained not out on 50 runs playing 58 deliveries in which he hit five fours and one six. Kyle Jarvis’ all-round performance helped his team to avoid a big margin defeat. With bat, he played a crucial innings of 33-ball 37. He and Williams made a 67-run partnership for the eight-wicket stand. This pair was also showing their team hope of winning the 1st ODI match. However, due to Bangladeshi bowlers’ controlled bowling, their effort did not come true. 

Mehidy Hasan Miraz was the highest wicket taker. The off-spinner took three wickets while Nazmul Islam picked up two wickets. Other two wickets were shared between Mustafizur Rahman and Mahmudullah. 

Selectors of the Bangladesh cricket made two changes in the squad that lost to India in the Asia Cup final last month. They picked up the uncapped Fazle Mahmud Rabbi to replace Shakib Al Hasan, who has been nurturing his finger injury. Another change is the recall of pace-bowling all-rounder Mohammad Saifuddin in place of fast bowler Ruble Hossain, who is recovering from fever.

Scorecard- http://www.espncricinfo.com/series/18815/scorecard/1153635/bangladesh-vs-zimbabwe-1st-odi-zimbabwe-in-bangladesh-2018-19

Bangladesh announces 15-man ODI squad against Zimbabwe

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) on Thursday 11 October 2018 announced a 15-member squad for the upcoming three-match ODI series against Zimbabwe. Of them, national team selectors picked up only two uncapped players namely Fazle Mahmud Rabbi and Ariful Haque.

Fazle Mahmud Rabbi, the 30-year-old batting all-rounder, earned his place in the Bangladesh squad after scoring 708 runs at an average of 47.2 in the last season of the Dhaka Premier League. He got this golden opportunity to wear national team’s jersey after showing consistency in domestic circuit for almost 15 years and in the Ireland tour with Bangladesh A team recently. He also can bowl left-arm spin, which has been proved effective in domestic cricket. The reason behind taking him was to replace Shakib Al Hasan. Ariful Haque is another batting all-rounder. He has so far played only 6 T20Is. His performance in domestic cricket is quite satisfactory. So, Minhajul Abedin, Bangladesh's chief selector, is expecting that Ariful will play a vital role both with bat and ball.

Cricket fans might know that all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan and opener Tamim Iqbal were ruled out of the squad for their respective injuries. The 31-year-old Shakib, who worsened his left little finger injury during the 2018 Asia Cup, is undergoing rehabilitation. He might take four to six months to get recovery from his finger infection and before that, he cannot go under surgery. Tamim Iqbal fractured his left hand in the opening match of the same tournament.

It is a matter of great joy that Mushfiqur Rahim has recovered from hip injury in time, thus he has been named in the squad. Experienced players like Mahmudullah Riyad, Liton Das, Rubel Hossain, Imrul Kayes have retained their places.

The exclusion of Mominul Haque, Mosaddek Hossain and Soumya Sarkar, who were part of the Bangladesh squad in the recently concluded Asia Cup campaign, might upset the cricket lovers.

Mohammad Saifuddin impressed the coach in the net practice and made his way to the Bangladesh’s ODI squad. His inclusion is likely to fill up the shortage of pace bowling all-rounder.

However, this team will be led by Mashrafe Bin Mortaza as usual. He will try to lead his team to a series victory, leaving behind the frustration of losing out to India in the Asia Cup final.

This two-sided ODI series is scheduled to kick off from October 21.

Bangladesh ODI Squad against Zimbabwe: Mashrafe Mortaza (c), Liton Das, Imrul Kayes, Mohammad Mithun, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah, Ariful Haque, Mehidy Hasan, Nazmul Islam, Rubel Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Abu Hider Rony, Nazmul Hossain Shanto, Mohammad Saifuddin, Fazle Mahmud.

Source- https://bdnews24.com/cricket/2018/10/11/bangladesh-picks-uncapped-fazle-rabbi-for-zimbabwe-odi-series-saifuddin-returns