Hamilton Masakadza stamped his authority on the match with a
belligerent fifty to give Zimbabwe the platform for a big total in the
deciding T20I.
He faced 35 balls for his half-century, and smashed five fours and two sixes with brutal power.
| Bangladesh v Zimbabwe |
| Zimbabwe: 180/4 (20/20 over) |
| Zimbabwe win toss and chose to bat |
Abu Hider struck in the 11th over to pull back things for Bangladesh.
He ended the 2nd wicket partnership that yielded 80 runs by dismissing
Mutumbami.
Zimbabwe batter was beaten by pace and late swing as Hider’s yorker
didn’t miss its target. Mutumbami contributed with 32 runs from 25 balls
with three fours and a six.
Zimbabwe’s Hamilton Masakadza took upon himself to steer his side’s
innings after the loss of the first batter. He played positively and
peppered the field with some forceful drives off the front foot.
With Masakadza going strong, the second wicket stand for the visitors
reached 71 runs in 8.1 overs with Mutumbamu playing second fiddle with
ease.
It took Bangladesh five balls to get their first breakthrough when
skipper Mashrafe Mortaza got one to hold up on Sibanda and dismiss the
batter for four runs.
Sibanda tried to smash a good length delivery outside off but badly
timed his shot only to offer a simple catch to Shakib at cover. His
wicket was a sign of the nature of the pitch, which may not be as
conducive for stroke-play as predicted earlier.
After the coin was tossed, if fell in favour of Zimbabwe’s skipper
Elton Chigumbura, who didn’t hesitate to bat first and make early use of
the batting pitch at Khulna in the 4th T20I of the series against
Bangladesh today.
The visitors had their backs against the wall prior to Wednesday,
January 20 and having overcome the obstacle, they will now be able to play with a lot more confidence.
Having gone down to Afghanistan recently, a draw against Bangladesh away from home can help them gain much-needed confidence.
The Bangladeshi side, on the other hand, is most likely going to take
a step back from its initial strategy of providing all the new players
with enough game time and bring some changes in order to ensure a series
victory.
While the team's makeup in the third T20I was criticised heavily, team manager Khaled Mahmud defended the tactic.
“We gave these players enough chances to play because of a bad
experience we had during the 2015 World Cup. When Al-Amin Hossain and
Anamul Haque had to go they were replaced by Shafiul Islam and Imrul
Kayes."
The game could end up being the only close one in the four-match
series, but both teams will still be on the lookout for any performing
newcomer. For Bangladesh, securing the series win will seem to matter a
little more, given how they lost the third game.
Bangladesh
Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Sabbir Rahman, Imrul Kayes, Shakib Al
Hasan, Mahmudullah, Nurul Hasan (Wicketkeeper), Mashrafe Mortaza
(Captain), Arafat Sunny, Taskin Ahmed and Abu Hider
Zimbabwe
H Masakadza, V Sibanda, R Mutumbami (Wicketkeeper), E Chigumbura
(Captain), MN Waller, Sikandar Raza, PJ Moor, LM Jongwe, TS Chisoro, N
Madziva and AG Cremer
