Bangladesh v Zimbabwe: 1st ODI Preview: ‘The march of the Tigers’ and ‘The Beginning of Zimbabwe Cricket?’
Bangladesh v Zimbabwe: 1st ODI Preview: ‘The march of the Tigers’ and ‘The Beginning of Zimbabwe Cricket?’: The Bangladesh boys who are looking to consolidate their position in the ICC Rankings table will be aiming to fight for an outright victory against Zimbabwe in the upcoming series while Zimbabwe who were on the wrong side of history with an embarrassing series loss against the Afghanistan will be playing for pride and to regain back the lost glory of the Zimbabwe cricket. Elton Chigumbura said in an interview after they lost the first T20 to Afghanistan that, “It is not the death of Zimbabwe cricket. It is the beginning I think. We have good youngsters who are coming up. It is just a matter of giving them more games. We have a bunch of guys who are positive. Obviously anyone can make those comments. We believe that we have a big future ahead of us.”
Though BCB XI lost to Zimbabwe in the tour match by 7 wickets, Bangladesh will be going for the kill from the first ball starting with the first ODI on 7th November.
Bangladesh:
This era of Bangladesh cricket is truly the golden era of it under the coaching of Chandika Hathurusingha who took them to the quarter-finals of the World Cup for the first time ever. It all started with their series victory against the Zimbabwe prior to the World cup. After the World cup they comprehensively tamed Pakistan 3-0 in the ODI series at home after which there was no looking back. This led to another series victory of 2-1 against the Indians with their discovery of Mustafizur Rahim. Bangla Tigers again aggressively defeated the strong South Africans 2-1 leading to 4th straight consecutively at home.
The only major concern would be the unavailability of Soumya Sarkar but hopefully Imrul Kayes will give his best shot in establishing himself back in the ODI team.
With now Imrul Kayes and Tamim Iqbal opening, and probably Liton Das and Shakib al Hasan controlling the middle and lower order, the batting seems strong and ready for any challenge thrown at them. With Mashrafe Mortaza leading the team as well as the bowling attack along with Mustafizur Rahman and an uncapped Rabbi mostly being the trump card for them, the odds are completely in favour of Bangladesh winning this series.
Zimbabwe:
Zimbabwe being led by Dav Whatmore looked like a side to beat but after the retirement of Brendan Taylor after the World Cup 2015, things are seeming to go downhill for Zimbabwe with ODI series losses to Pakistan, India, New Zealand and recently they lost to the minnows Afghanistan prior to which they won a series against Ireland.
Led by Elton Chigumbura, one of the greatest all-rounders Zimbabwe has seen, the team has plenty of talent but sadly it’s not clicking for them at the right times.
The problems have been that no steady partnerships have been built, following it up with poor shot selection has caused the downfall of Zimbabwe in the recent past. The bowling department should stick to the basics and they’ll definitely get the rewards. If the team unites and fights for glory, Zimbabwe will have no problem in following the likes of Bangladesh in emerging as a strong cricketing nation.
The odds are against them but don’t rule them out just yet and wait for the series to begin.
Last 5 matches: (Most recent first)
Bangladesh: WWLLW
Zimbabwe: LLWLW
Pitch:
The ground is one of the most well equipped and has world class facilities. It is considered one of the best grounds in the subcontinent. The most striking feature of the ground is the drainage facility which is probably the best in the subcontinent. People batting second have won more number of times here. It’s a happy hunting ground with many wickets with Shakib al Hasan leading the pack. The Dhaka deck is rather atypical of a sub-continent wicket – faster, rather than slow and low – and was once described by South Africa captain Graeme Smith as “the strangest colour pitch he’d ever seen” due to its straw-like complexion. All in all, we can hope for an exciting cricket match with the best side winning.
Stats:
2034 – Shakib Al Hasan’s runs scored here in this stadium at an average of 39.88. The highest tally of runs in this stadium.
8 – Most numbers of ducks scored her in this stadium. Infamously held by Tamim Iqbal.
124 – the margin by which Zimbabwe lost to Bangladesh here the last time both of them in 2014 November.
17 – the most number of wickets taken by a Zimbabwe cricketer here. Held by RW Price.
Squads:
Squad for the first two ODIs: Mashrafe Mortaza(capt), Tamim Iqbal, Liton Das, Imrul Kayes, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Mahmudullah, Sabbir Rahman, Nasir Hossain, Arafat Sunny, Jubair Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Al-Amin Hossain, Kamrul Islam Rabb.
Zimbabwe squad: Elton Chigumbura (captain), Sikandar Raza, Regis Chakabva, Chamu Chibhabha, Tendai Chisoro, Graeme Cremer, Craig Ervine, Luke Jongwe, Neville Madziva, Wellington Masakadza, Richmond Mutumbami, Taurai Muzarabani, John Nyumbu, Tinashe Panyangara, Malcolm Waller, Sean Williams
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