Bangladesh and Zimbabwe might not be the best teams in the world but both of them are emerging as competitive cricketing nations. Bangladesh has recently beaten http://www.senore.com/Cricket/New-Zealand-c754 with a comprehensive margin of 4-0 and Zimbabwe has also shown some very competitive
performances. That has actually made the series between Bangladesh and Zimbabwe quite interesting.
In the 1st ODI of the series, Shakib ul Hassan won the toss and strangely elected to field at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur. The decision to field first was quite a surprise as the surface was slow and suitable for the spinners and
teams usually like to bowl last on turning tracks.
Zimbabwe were off to a good start through Chibaba and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Taylor-c92915 but lost their way with the introduction of spin into the attack. Zimbabwe could not even play out the complete quota of 50 overs as they were bowled out in the 49th over of the innings
for 209 runs.
There was not even a single batsman to score a half-century but through some important contributions, Zimbabwe was able to put a competitive score on the board. Only 10 overs in the Zimbabwe innings were bowled by the fast bowlers, which show how helpful
the pitch was for the spinners. Chakabva remained the top-scorer with 45 which he made off 85 balls with 4 boundaries and the left-hander Ervine made an important 41 of just 59 balls with 2 fours.
Left-arm spinner, Abdur Razzak was the pick of the Bangladeshi bowlers with 4 wickets for only 41 runs. Suhrawadi Shuvo and Mahmuddullah picked up a couple of wickets each.
In reply, Bangladesh was also off to a good start chasing a target of 210 runs but lost their way in the middle. But Bangladesh had no one else to blame as 4 of their batsmen were run out which is nothing less than a crime in bowling friendly conditions.
Shakib ul Hassan played a captains knock but to no avail as he needed a support from the other end which he never got from his team-mates. He remained the top-scorer with solid 63 off only 65 balls with 8 boundaries. His dismissal tilted the match in favour
of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Zimbabwe-c3045. Imrul Kayes made 41 runs but did waste a lot of deliveries in the process. Former captain, Muhammad Ashraful who is making a comeback in the senior team, failed once again.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Bangladesh-c747 fell short by 9 runs and just like Zimbabwe, they were also bowled out in the 49th over. Fast bowler, Christopher Mpofu took 3 wickets and gave away only 25 runs of his 9 overs. He was the only successful fast bowler in both the teams.
Left arm-spinner, Raymond http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Price-c82662 took 2 wickets and also bowled quite economically. Christopher Mpofu was named Man of the Match for his superb efforts with the ball on a track that was not offering a lot of assistance to the fast bowlers.
With both teams equally matched and the visitors leading by 1-0, the series is beautifully poised and we are definitely going to witness some more breath-taking finishes. The 2nd ODIs of the 5-match series are scheduled to be played on December
3rd.
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