Published: Jan 17, 2016, 05:48 PM (IST)
Edited: Jan 17, 2016, 07:18 PM (IST)
An all-round show from Sabbir Rahman has ensured Bangladesh beat Zimbabwe by 42 runs in the second T20 International (T20I) at Khulna. Courtesy of this win, Bangladesh lead the four-match T20I series 2-0. The innings began reasonably well for Zimbabwe as Hamilton Masakadza was looking in a menacing mood right from the outset. Vusi Sibanda at the other end was looking to provide him with good support. Zimbabwe’s 50 came up in the seventh over, but they lost their way a bit from there. They kept losing wickets at regular intervals and never really manages to recover. Bangladesh bowlers kept things extremely tight and at no point let Zimbabwe off the hook. Full Scorecard: Bangladesh vs Zimbabwe 2015-16, 2nd T20I at Khulna
Masakadza finished as the top-scorer with 30. Malcom Waller tried to force the situation lower down the order but was unable to score more than 29. Zimbabwe are going into the series after a crushing series defeat at the hands of Afghanistan and have lost the first two matches in the series. They will look to bounce back in the remaining two matches in the series. Full updates: Bangladesh vs Zimbabwe 2015-16, 2nd T20I at Khulna
In the first innings, Bangladesh finished at 167 for 3 in their 20 overs. Bangladesh made a brisk start to their innings with their openers Tamim Iqbal and Soumya Sarkar. The duo put on 45 for the first wicket inside six overs and Bangladesh seemed as though they were on their way to get a big score. But Tamim was dismissed after attempting to play a sweep of Taurai Muzarabani. Wickets of Sarkar and Mahmudullah followed soon after and Zimbabwe pegged their way back into the game. Sabbir Rahman looked to continue his good run of form from the previous matches as him along with Mushfiqur Rahim built a 52-run stand in quick time.
Sadly for Bangladesh, Mushfiqur suffered cramps and he could no longer continue. Regardless, Sabbir carried on his explosive style of batting and found a good partner in Shakib Al Hasan, who was supporting Sabbir well. Zimbabwe bowlers, especially Brian Vitori were bowling very well inthe latter stages of the innings and kept Bangladesh’s score to a bare minimum. Turai Muzarabani too made an excellent come back after going for plenty in his first couple of overs.
Bangladesh lead the series 1-0, after their four-wicket win in the first match of the series. Bangladesh won the match and elected to bat first. Bangladesh did nt make any change in their playing XI. Zimbabwe on the other hand made three changes. Regular skipper Elton Chigumbura dropped himself and Hamilton Masakadza is leading Zimbabwe as a result. Luke Jongwe and Sikandar Raza too have been dropped as well. Richmond Mutumbami and Nevil Madziva have been included in their place.
Brief Scores:
Bangladesh: 167 for 3 in 20 Overs (Soumya Sarkar 43, Sabbir Rahman 43*; Turai Muzarabani 1 for 35, Wellington Masakadza 1 for 32) beat Zimbabwe 125 for 8 (Hamilton Masakadza 30, Malcom Waller 29, Sabbir Rahman 3 for 11, Mustafizur Rahman 2 for 19) by 42 runs
Man of the Match: Sabbir Rahman
(Pramod Ananth is a reporter at CricketCountry. He has represented Karnataka table tennis under-15, and is a hardcore supporter of Liverpool FC. His Twitter handle is @pramz)
