Skipper Tamim Iqbal’s brisk fifty at the top followed by Mahmudullah’s unbeaten 80 took Bangladesh to a decent 290-9 in their 50 overs at the second One-Day International (ODI) against Zimbabwe at the Harare Sports Club on Sunday.
Mahmudullah top-scored with 80 off 84 balls while skipper Tamim Iqbal scored a brisk 50 off 45 balls to keep Bangladesh in the contest in the must-win game.
Afif Hossain also chipped in with a run-a-ball 41 while Najmul Hossain Shanto made 38 off 55 balls, his career best innings in the 50-over format.
For the hosts, spinner Sikander Raza claimed 3- 56 while Wessly Madhevere took 2-40.
This is a must-win match for Bangladesh after suffering a five-wicket defeat in the first ODI of the three-match series on Friday.
Bangladesh made three changes as injured players Liton Das and Mustafizur Rahman were replaced by Anamul Haque and Hasan Mahmud respectively, while all-rounder Mosaddek Hossain was dropped to make way for left-arm spinner Taijul Islam, to strengthen the bowling attack.
Sent to bat, Tamim and Anamul Haque, who earned a promotion from the No. 3, gave Bangladesh an ideal start, taking the team to 62-0 after the powerplay.
Tamim was the aggressor of the duo, as he smashed 10 fours and one six in his punishing innings. But Tamim departed soon after reaching his 55th ODI fifty, when he mistimed a pull shot against Tanaka Chivanga and Takudzwanashe Kaitano took a good running catch to dismiss him and break the opening stand for 71.
Anamul, after making 20 off 24, followed his partner to the dressing room just two overs later, when he got run out at the striker’s end, while responding to Shanto’s call for a quick single.
The scoring rate dipped after their departure, with Shanto opting to take a more cautious approach. Mushfiqur Rahim tried to break the shackles with a slog sweep off Madhevere, only to give a catch at the deep to depart for 25 off 31 balls.
Shanto’s dogged fell victim to the same bowler, edging a ball to the wicketkeeper, with the score at 148-4 after 29.3 overs.
Afif and Mahmudullah then formed an 81-run partnership off 82 balls. The partnership ended in the 44th over, when Afif’s reverse sweep against Raza went straight to Tanaka Chivanga.
Mahmudullah then took the onus upon his himself. After taking 69 balls to complete his half-century, he scored 30 runs off the next 15 balls.
Mahmudullah’s unbeaten knock took Bangladesh to a fighting total. But after failing to defend 303 in the first ODI, defending this total will be a challenge for the Tigers.