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Khulna: Bangladesh defeated Zimbabwe by four wickets in their first T20I at Khulna on Friday.
Bangladesh did make a heavy weather of a competitive chase which they were expected to win easily, as their margin of win was not on the expected lines.
Sabbir Rahman scored a rapid 46 and remained the top run-getter for Bangladesh in their chase. Zimbabwe are in Bangladesh to play a four-match T20I series, which has been organised keeping the ICC World T20 2016 in mind.
The T20 tournament will be held in India and this four-match series will serve a good preparations for the tournament to be held in a couple of months.
In their chase of 164 to win, Bangladesh made a rapid start as Tamim Iqbal and Soumya Sarkar added 31 runs for the first wicket. It was in the fourth over’s first ball that Zimbabwe were able to make a mark, when Soumya was run out for 7 off 5 balls.
Bangladesh continued to make the runs quickly, with Sabbir Rahman joining hands with Tamim to take their side ahead. The two lo0ked in good rhythm, but their association did not last long in the middle. Graeme Cremer had Tamim caught by Vusi Sibanda. Tamim scored 29 runs off 24 balls, and he struck three boundaries and a six.
Tamim and Sabbir added 27 runs for the second wicket, and when the former was dismissed, Sabbir added another 16 runs for the third wicket with Shuvagata Hom. The failure of the Bangladeshi middle-order batsman Hom put pressure on their side, which was negated well by Mushfiqur Rahim and Sabbir later on.
But the dismissals of Sabbir, Mushfiqur and then Mahmudullah in quick succession put the hosts in trouble. But thanks to an unbeaten 29-run stand between Nurul Hasan and Shakib Al Hasan, Bangladesh were able to seal win.
Earlier in the day, Zimbabwe set 164–run target From their allotted 20 overs, Zimbabwe somehow wasted an excellent chance to put up a big score and could manage only 163 for 7.
In the first T20I, it was Zimbabwe who won the toss and made most of the favourable batting conditions at Khulna, with their openers Hamilton Masakadza and Vusi Sibanda providing a century stand for the first wicket.
After electing to bat first, it was Hamilton Masakadza who made most of the opportunity, and made his intentions clear right from the beginning.
Brief scores:
Zimbabwe - 163 for 7 (Hamilton Masakadza 79, Sibanda 46; Rahman 2-18, Al-Amin 2-24)
Bangladesh - 166 for 6 (Sabbir Rahman 46, Cremer 2-32)
Result - Bangladesh won by 4 wickets.
Man of the Match - Hamilton Masakadza (Zimbabwe)
