Zimbabwe opener Brian Bennett believes his team is in a strong position after the second day of the first Test against Bangladesh in Sylhet today. 

Bangladesh ended the day on 57 for one in their second innings, still trailing by 25 runs after Mehedi Hasan Miraz took five wickets to help bowl Zimbabwe out for 273.

Despite losing momentum after restricting Bangladesh to just 191 in the first innings, Zimbabwe stayed competitive with the bat and made a key breakthrough late in the day.

"After last night's performance with the bat [and] after bowling out Bangladesh for 191, I feel the game is now in the balance," said Bennett, who scored an aggressive 57 off 64 balls. 

"We feel we are a bit ahead after taking that wicket in the evening. Tomorrow is going to be a big day."

Zimbabwe sees a real chance to take control of the match on the third day.

"I think we have a great opportunity to win the game," Bennett added.

"We are still 20–30 runs ahead. Our bowlers will have a rest tonight and come back tomorrow fighting hard. You don't know what might happen. There's a lot of time left in this Test."

Bennett noted that the pitch is changing and could offer more help to the batters going forward.

"It is becoming a little easier to bat on now. There's still some turn, but the seamers are getting more from the surface than they did yesterday."

On his own dismissal against young pacer Nahid Rana, Bennett said: "He has got some good pace on him, but the faster the ball comes, the further I can hit it. My cut shots were working well today. I just mis-executed that one."

Zimbabwe missed a couple of catching chances late in the day, but Bennett said the team is staying positive.

"No one wants to drop a catch. We have to back each other. We won't shout at anyone. Tomorrow we'll come back stronger."

Reflecting on Zimbabwe's previous win in Sylhet in 2018, Bennett said this team is motivated to repeat that success.

"It's not often we win a Test in Bangladesh. To be in a position like this, we feel we have a very good chance. We trust all fifteen guys in the squad."
With the match finely balanced, Day 3 is shaping up to be a crucial one in Sylhet.