Tri-series 2018 - BAN vs ZIM, 1st ODI Review: Tamim Iqbal leads hosts to a win

Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe are in Bangladesh for a tri-series. Each team will face the other two twice before they play the finals. In the opening encounter, an all-round performance by Bangladesh against Zimbabwe has helped them win their first match. Winning this match ensured that the Bangla Tigers open their tally first up on the points table.

After winning the toss at the Sher-e-Bangla stadium, Mashrafe Mortaza elected to field first. Having been put into bat first, Zimbabwe were dented by early blows. Bangladesh’s veteran all-rounder Shakib Al Hassan picked two wickets right in the first over. The visitors lost their first two wickets after just scoring two runs.

After this shocker, Hamilton Masakadza and Brendan Taylor tried to put the innings back on track. But, the Bangla bowlers were relentless. Their skipper picked the wicket of Masakadza in the 8th over. Later, 22-year-old Mustafizur Rahman managed to find the edge of Brendan Taylor. They were reduced to 51/4 just in the 16th over.

However, a spirited fightback from Sikandar Raza alongside with Peter Moor ensured that the Zimbabweans went past 150. Raza was run out unfortunately when he was on 52 shattering their hopes of posting a respectable total. Despite all the efforts, they were bundled out for a mere 170 in 49 overs. Shakib picked three wickets in the innings. Mustafizur and Rubel Hossain shared two wickets each.

Tamim sees Bangladesh through

Chasing small scores could sometimes be very tricky. But, Bangladesh were clinical in their run chase. Tamim Iqbal continued his good form with the bat. He played a wonderful knock of 84 runs in just 93 balls.

In the run chase, Bangladeshis lost their opener, Anamul Haque, early. But, Tamim stitched a very good partnership with Shakib taking them very close to the victory. But, the all-rounder fell in the 20th over when the score was 108. He made 37 runs off 46 balls at a strike rate of 80.43.

After Shakib’s wicket, Tamim shifted gears and played more aggressively. Wicketkeeper-batsman Mushfiqur Rahim held the other end up tight, ensuring Bangladesh do not lose any wickets further. Rahim scored 14 off 23 balls to help the team seal an eight-wicket victory. There isn’t much to speak about Zimbabwe‘s performance with the ball. Sikandar Raza was the pick of the bowlers. He grabbed two wickets but was fairly expensive going at an economy rate of 5.3.

Zimbabwe only managed to get 35 runs in the mandatory power-play between overs 1 to 10. Bangladesh had a great start and scored 55 runs in the first 10 overs.

Brief Scores

Zimbabwe: 170/10 in 49 overs (Sikandar Raza 52, Peter Moor 33, Brendan Taylor 24; Shakib Al Hassan 3/43)

Bangladesh: 171/2 in 28.3 overs (Tamim Iqbal 84*, Shakib Al Hassan 37, Anamul Haque 19; Sikandar Raza 2/53)

Player of the Match: Shakib Al Hassan

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