Published: Nov 15, 2015, 08:31 PM (IST)
Edited: Nov 15, 2015, 08:37 PM (IST)
Zimbabwe have sealed a dramatic win against Bangladesh in the second Twenty20 International (T20I) at Dhaka. The match ended in incredible fashion with Neville Madziva knocking off 18 runs required off the final over utilising just four deliveries! Bangladesh performed brilliantly with the ball for most part and not many Zimbabwean batsmen managed to negotiate the top notch bowling with Malcolm Waller, Madziva and to a lesser extent Luke Jongwe being the exceptions. At the early stages of the second innings it looked as if Bangladesh would romp off with a massive victory but Waller batted amazingly and was assisted by Luke Jongwe in a crucial sixth wicket partnership worth 55 runs taking the score from 39 for five to 94 for six. Live Cricket Scorecard: Bangladesh vs Zimbabwe, 2nd T2oI at Dhaka
While Jongwe was still at the crease, Zimbabwe yet had a good chance to win the game but the increasing scoreboard pressure got to him and he was dismissed by Al-Amin Hossain in the 16th over. After that, Neville Madziva seemed unable to give Waller the same type of support and was not even able to rotate strike initially. But he came in his element and smashed a couple of fours in the 18th over to keep the game alive. LIVE UPDATES: Bangladesh vs Zimbabwe 2015, 2nd T20I at Dhaka
Waller struck frequent boundaries kept the game alive right until the final over with 18 required. Waller’s attempt to attack and close in on the target failed in the very first ball of the final over by Nasir Hossain and with that Zimbabwe’s hopes were almost blown away. Madziva struck a belligerent six after Waller’s dismissal and increased the anxiety for Bangladesh. He scored a two and a four off the following deliveries and suddenly things looked grim for the hosts. With six needed of the final two balls, Madziva smacked the next ball for a huge six and Bangladesh knew it was over for them even before the ball landed because that was how far the ball travelled into the stands.
For Zimbabwe, Al-Amin Hossain was the biggest threat on the day because in his quota of four overs not only did he take three wickets but conceded just 20 miserly runs. His efforts were backed by Mustafizur Rahman who conceded just 12 runs in his four overs while also taking a wicket. Even Nasir Hossain did a good job through the game but that final over spoilt not only his figures but also the day for Bangladesh who had probably started celebrating within themselves early in the second innings.
Earlier, Bangladesh have posted a modest total of 135 for nine in their 20 overs thanks to a responsible measured knock by Anamul Haque. Haque scored 47 runs at a strike rate of about 90 to keep the innings together. Zimbabwe’s bowlers performed well collectively to restrict Bangladesh to a modest total. Tinashe Panyangara took three wickets for them.
Brief scores:
Bangladesh 135 for nine in 20 overs (Tamim Iqbal 21, Anamul Haque 43; Tinashe Panyangara 3 for 30) lost to Zimbabwe 136 for seven in 19.5 overs (Luke Jongwe 34, Malcolm Waller 40, Neville Madziva 28*; Al-Amin Hossain 3 for 20) by three wickets.
