Bangladesh wins toss, bats first vs. Zimbabwe in T20 match

It attempted to bolster its batting with Sibanda up the order and the move paid off as the opener came up with a stylish 49 while adding 101 runs for the opening wicket with Hamilton Masakadza. Zimbabwe were helped by Hamilton Masakadza 79 and Vusi Sibanda 46 who provided the early explosives with a century stand for the first wicket.

Masakadza said that his job to play his part well and he will keep on doing that, and whenever he gets support from any other batsman, they will make sure that they win the match for their side by staying on the wicket for as long as possible.

It won’t be an easy task for Zimbabwe to bounce back against Bangladesh, who is taking the preparatory phase seriously by bringing in Shakib Al Hasan and Soumya Sarkar to go with a number of changes to the already battle-hardened outfit.

In the 1st T20 of the series, Bangladesh crossed the finishing line in the final moments of the game and ended up winning a sharp close game. Sabbir Rahman, who was sent in to bat at No. 3, played an excellent anchor knock and set the foundation for the chase along with Tamim Iqbal, who scored a useful 29 off 24.

Legspinner Graeme Cremer returned 2 for 32. “There will be a portion of (the series) looking at different combinations”. Bangladesh chased down a target of 164 with 8 balls to spare as all-rounder, Shakib Al-Hasan guided the hosts to a convincing victory.

Two more sixes followed, the second of which, hit by Sibanda, was juggled at the boundary several times before Soumya toed the rope with the ball in his grasp.

Sibanda’s dismissal stemmed the run flow for Zimbabwe, which faltered near the end, losing five wickets for only 31 runs in the last five overs. Al-Amin Hossain and Mustafizur Rahman were the reasons behind those economical numbers. They were also guilty of bowling two massive wides down the leg side at a crucial juncture in the game, tilting the match heavily in favour of the hosts.

The second match is on Sunday.