Ryan Burl’s late assault spoiled Bangladesh’s efforts as Zimbabwe managed to post a challenging 156-8 in 20 overs in the series deciding third Twenty20 International at the Harare Sports Club on Tuesday.
Burl made 54 off 28 balls with the help of six sixes and two fours and Luke Jongwe played an affective knock of 35 off 20 balls to take Zimbabwe to a decent total after they were reduced to 55-5 at one point.
Mahedi Hasan and Hasan Mahmud were the pick of the Bangladesh bowlers with identical figures of 2-28.
Nasum Ahmed had a day to forget. The left-arm spinner now has the record of bowling the most expensive over in T20Is for a Bangladeshi bowler, 34, which came off the bat of Burl.
Batting first, Zimbabwe got off the blocks very quickly, with openers Regis Chakabva and Craig Ervine taking skipper Mosaddek Hossain for 15 runs as the hosts reached 29-0 after three overs.
Nasum Ahmed, one of Bangladesh’s three changed in the playing XI, broke the stand by dismissing Chakabva for 17, with Afif Hossain taking a tricky catch.
Off-spinner Mahedi Hasan then struck in consecutive deliveries, bowling Wessly Madhevere for five with a yorker and getting the in-form Sikander Raza caught at fine-leg for a first-ball duck, to reduce Zimbabwe to 45-3 in 5.3 overs.
Bangladesh spinners further tightened the screws by bowling some cheap overs. Mosaddek removed Sean Williams (two off seven) and Mahmudullah, who has been roped into the T20I squad in place of Nurul Hasan, induced a stumping in his first ball of the match to remove Ervine for 24 off 26.
The situation worsened for the hosts when Mustafizur Rahman returned to the attack in the 13th over and reduced them to 67-6.
Mustafiz induced an outside edge off Milton Shumba (seven off 11), which was brilliantly caught by Anamul Haque, who is keeping the wickets in Nurul’s absence.
Everything was going swimmingly for the Tigers before the 15th over. The Zimbabwe innings was hobbling at 76-6, with Ryan Burl unbeaten on nine off 14 balls and Luke Jongwe batting on eight off five.
But things changed drastically in space of six deliveries. Nasum, coming to bowl his second over of the match, was struck for four consecutive sixes, a boundary and a six by the left-hander Burl in an over that cost Bangladesh 34 runs.
The momentum for the rest of the innings changed after that over, as Burl and Jongwe kept attacking the Bangladesh bowlers. Their joint assault finally ended in the 19th over when Jongwe got caught by Mosaddek off the bowling of Hasan Mahmud after making 35 off 20 balls.
But by then Zimbabwe’s score had already reached 146-6, primarily owing to their seventh wicket stand which amounted 79 runs off 31 balls.
Burl who had reached his fifty off just 24 balls, departed in the same over, this time Liton Das taking the catch.
Zimbabwe took six runs off Mustafiz in the last over to finish on a total that is sure to test the Bangladesh team.