Saifuddin three-for helps Bangladesh stave off Zimbabwe’s challenge

Bangladesh saw off some late batting fightback from Zimbabwe tailenders Faraz Akram and Blessing Muzarbani to clinch the T20I series in the third game in Chattogram. They won by nine runs on Tuesday, with two matches left to play in Dhaka.

Akram, playing only his fifth T20I, struck an unbeaten 34 off 19 balls after the visitors had crashed to 91 for 8 chasing 166. The 54 runs he added with Wellington Masakadza was a new Zimbabwe record for the ninth wicket. Akram’s 34 was also Zimbabwe’s highest by a No. 10 batter.

Muzarabani, who took career-best figures of 3 for 14 earlier, struck two fours when Zimbabwe needed 21 in the final over. But Saifuddin snuffed out the trouble with some accurate death-overs bowling.

Zimbabwe produced lower-order runs for the third game in a row, especially when the rest sunk quickly. Bangladesh once again had Towhid Hridoy play a crucial hand in a win. Hridoy’s maiden T20I fifty came during an 87-run fourth wicket stand with Jaker Ali who made 44. This pair had to lift Bangladesh after they lost three wickets in the first nine overs.

Litton Das chose the strangest sequence of shots to get out in the fourth over. He missed two lap scoops against Muzarabani before his third successive attempt dragged the ball onto his stumps. It is unclear whether Litton, already showing poor form in white-ball cricket this year, will be in Bangladesh’s T20 World Cup squad. This innings is unlikely to help his case.

Captain Najmul Hossain Shanto also got out cheaply, bowled by a bit of variation from his opposite number Sikandar Raza. Shanto’s lack of footwork would be concerning for the team. Those would be long-term concerns, but when Tanzid Hasan fell in the ninth over, trying to slog Faraz Akram, it caused immediate worry. Bangladesh were hovering around a mediocre run rate, having lost their set batter.

The fourth-wicket pair struck a boundary in their first 3.3 overs before Jaker and Hridoy took on Raza for two sixes in the space of three balls. The first was a straight hit before Hridoy hit a bigger one into the mid-wicket stands.

In the 15th over though, Zimbabwe handed Jaker a life when his slog-sweep off Luke Jongwe fell between Johnathan Campbell and Brian Bennett, both looking at each other. Hridoy deposited Masakadza for his second six in the 16th over before reaching his maiden T20I fifty in the 18th over. Jaker slammed Jongwe for a big six shortly afterwards.

Hridoy’s scoop also connected in the penultimate over as Bangladesh approached 150. Litton attempted the same shot three times in a row, the third of which was his dismissal. It showed the gulf in confidence between Litton and Hridoy.

Muzarabani, however, caused a bit of an anti-climax when his yorker slammed into Hridoy’s leg-stump next ball. It was an excellent delivery that forced itself through Hridoy’s bat and pad as he looked to swing the ball towards the leg side.

Jaker fell one ball after Hridoy got out, as another Muzarabani full delivery slammed into his stumps. Muzarabani’s three-for kept Zimbabwe within a decent score. It was also reward for a fast bowler who is accurate even when trying variations.

For the third game in a row, Zimbabwe lost their first four wickets for less than 50 runs. Joylord Gumbie mistimed one to third man in the third over before Tanzim Hasan Sakib had Bennett caught and bowled in the fifth over. Zimbabwe’s powerplay ended with Craig Ervine falling to Saifuddin for seven.

Raza, who made five successive fifties since November 2023, also struggled to find form. He was caught behind by Rishad Hossain for 1 for his fifth consecutive low score.

Tadiwanashe Marumani fell for a 26-ball 31 before Clive Madande added 11. Campbell, who struck the ball cleanly in his debut in the last match, struck Tanvir Islam for two consecutive sixes before his attempt for the third in a row found Litton at the deep square-leg boundary.

When Jongwe fell to Rishad in the 15th over, defeat for the visitors seemed imminent, but Akram struck Rishad for two sixes over midwicket later in the over, before he found two more fours off Saifuddin in the 17th over. Taskin then dropped a difficult chance from Masakadza in the 18th over, but he returned strongly to concede just six runs in the penultimate over.

The 20th began with Saifuddin removing Masakadza first ball, but Muzarabani then slammed two consecutive fours. That brought the target down to 13 in three balls, but there was no more heroism left in the Zimbabwe tail. They fell nine short despite an admirable effort.

Brief score:
Bangladesh 165/5 in 20 overs (Tanzid Hasan 21, Towhid Hridoy 57, Jaker Ali 44; Faraz Akram 1-44, Blessing Muzarabani 3-14, Sikandar Raza 1-38) beat Zimbabwe 156/9 in 20 overs ( Tadiwanashe Marumani 31, Jonathan Campbell 21, Faraz Akram 34*; Tanvir Islam 1-26, Taskin Ahmed 1-21, Mohammad Saifuddin 3-42, Tanzim Hasan Sakib 1-26, Rishad Hossain 2-38, Mohamad Mahmudulla 1-01) by 9 runs