Nurul Hasan was let down by his bowlers in his debut as Bangladesh captain and now his batters have to chase a daunting target of 206 to save him from starting his captaincy career with a defeat.
Wesley Madhevere made 67 off 46 balls while all-rounder Sikander Raza smashed a quickfire 65 off just 26 balls to take Zimbabwe to 205-3 in their 20 overs in the first Twenty20 International at the Harare Sports Club Stadium on Saturday.
Bangladesh used six bowlers in the innings, four frontline options and two part-times. The part-time options Mosaddek Hossain and Afif Hossain collectively conceded 27 runs in their four overs.
But it was the frontline bowlers- Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam, Taskin Ahmed and Nasum Ahmed- who failed to keep the scoring down, allowing the hosts to post their highest ever total in a T20I against Bangladesh
Sent to bowl, Bangladesh used five bowlers in the first six overs. Mustafiz claimed the wicket of Regis Chakabva for eight in the third over as Zimbabwe reached 43-1 after the powerplay.
Mosaddek struck immediately after the powerplay, bowling out skipper Craig Ervine for 21 off 18 balls.
After a couple of quite overs, Sean Williams exploded in the 11th over, taking Nasum for 18 runs.
Nurul brought back Mustafiz back into the attack and the pacer shattered Willams stumps to remove him after an entertaining 33 off 19 deliveries and reducing Zimbabwe to 99-3.
Madhevere was then joined by Raza and the duo wreaked havoc at the middle right until Madhevere left the field retired hurt in the 19.3 over.
In just 43 balls, the duo added 91 runs. Raza was the aggressor, smashing seven fours and four sixes in his unbeaten innings while Madhevere also played his part from the other end.
Shoriful and Mustafiz bowled the penultimate and the ultimate overs of the innings respectively. Both pacers were taken for 19 runs in their overs as the hosts took their score beyond 200 and maybe beyond Bangladesh’s reach.