5 Talking Points of Zimbabwe Vs Bangladesh; 1st T20 at Dhaka

The unstoppable Bangladesh were once again face-to-face against the visitors – Zimbabwe as the two teams clashed for the 1st Twenty-twenty international held at Dhaka. Winning the toss, Bengal tigers opted to field inviting the African team to bat first and pose a stiff total on board. But Mortaza led Bangladesh completely outsmarted Zimbabwe restricting them to mere 131 at 19.3 overs. Bangladesh won the match hitting 136 for 6 and claiming a 4-wicket win over the minnows.

At one stage, Zimbabwe were languishing at 38 for four after losing all their top-order batsmen at cheap scores, but Malcom Waller (68) played an explosive knock – only positive side of Zimbabwe batting – that helped visitors reach the 130-run mark before getting bowled out for just 131 at 19.3 overs.

1. Bowlers Shine

It’s interesting to reveal here that all Bangladeshi bowlers were at superb form today. Each of them had successfully claimed 1 or 2 wickets at impressive economy rates. Top 3 bowlers of Bangladesh shared 6 wickets between them and almost bowled identically by maintaining their individual economy rates around 5. Mortaza started off well by picking up the wicket of Sikander Raza in the very first over the match and then other bowlers supported him well.

2. Malcolm Waller’s Stellar Performance:

Though, the entire Zimbabwean batsmen were struggling for runs, but it was Malcolm Waller who remained unperturbed by Bangladesh’s impressive bowling attack and kept on hitting big shots until his dismissal at the 18th over. When Waller came to crease Zimbabwe were 38 for 4 but Malcolm batted brilliantly on his way to explosive 68 off just 31 balls with 4 boundaries and 6 sixes. His strike rate was an astonishing 219 before he was caught by Das off Rahman.

3. Bangladesh on Winning Spree:

Cricket experts who have been watching Bangladesh cricket over the last couple of years would be often heard saying that the “Bangladesh are definitely not the team that they were a half-decade back”. This clearly highlights the rise of the Bengali team over the last few months on an almost consistent basis. In the current bilateral series against Zimbabwe, the host team is crushing the minnows in an emphatic manner with their excellent performances on the ground.

4. Tamim Iqbal’s Useful Knock:

Bangladesh opener Tamim Iqbal contributed well with the bat hitting a well-crafted 31 off 28 balls with 3 boundaries. Bengal tigers lost they’re very first wicket in the form of Haque for 1 in the very first over and then again Rahman for just 18, but patient Iqbal kept rotating the strike to help his team chase down the target without much trouble. Eventually, Bangladesh chased down the target with more than 2 overs to spare.

5. Lower Middle Order Shines:

Despite losing their top-order batsmen at cheap scores, Bangladesh fought back hard and snatched their 4th consecutive victory in the series. At one stage, Bangladesh were struggling at 80 for 5 at one stage, but the team’s lower middle order showed up and they took their team to a convincing 4-wicket win over Zimbabwe without any further trouble.