SOLOMON MIRE'S PLATINUM DUCK

Those who did not follow the game and had a look at the scorecard of the first match between Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, might be confused to see Zimbabwe opener Solomon Mire out for a duck without facing a delivery. The right-handed Mire went for a flick off a loopy Shakib delivery in the second ball of the innings which drifted sharply down the leg side and missed the ball, lost his balance and dragged the back foot out of the crease. Wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim whipped the bails off in a flash to complete the stumping. Mire was the third batsman to get stumped without facing a delivery in ODIs after Canada's Henry Osinde against Ireland and Bhuvneshwar Kumar of India against Sri Lanka in 2014 in Fatullah.

HEAVY SLIP CORDON

The dominance of the Bangladesh bowlers was evident against Zimbabwe yesterday. Skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza and Mustafizur Rahman kept things tight after the Tigers opened with spinners from both ends. Mustafizur displayed his venomous cutter to great effect in his comeback game and the Zimbabwe batsmen struggled to deal with his array of variations. After he removed Brendan Taylor, caught behind off a cutter, skipper Mashrafe immediately put three slips and two gullies for new batsman Malcom Waller in the 17th over as Zimbabwe wobbled to 51 for four. It was a sight of total dominance from the home bowlers and indeed the performance from the pacers will surely lend some confidence for the coming days after the disappointment in South Africa.

WALLER NOT THIRD TIME LUCKY

Zimbabwe batsman Malcom Waller was riding on his luck right from the start of his innings yesterday. The right-hander first survived on four when Nasir Hossain dropped a simple catch in the slips off pacer Rubel Hossain in the 21st over. Waller was reprieved once again when left-arm spinner Sunzamul Islam dropped a well-struck return catch when he was on 13. But the 33-year-old was eventually dismissed off the very next ball from Sunzamul, caught at slip when he went for a cut closer to the body to end his lucky run at the crease.

RUBEL'S 100TH WICKET MILESTONE

It took exactly nine years and 81 matches for pacer Rubel Hossain to reach the 100-wicket milestone in ODIs since making his debut in 2009. Despite having all the attributes of a successful pace bowler, the right-arm seamer however has been unable to live up to expectations and has had a stop-start career due to a lack of consistency. But the 28-year-old started the New Year on a positive note and was two wickets away from 100 wickets before yesterday's match. Rubel was introduced into the attack in the 21st over and remained wicket-less in his first spell. But the pacer eventually picked up his first wicket in his fifth over when he bowled a set Peter Moor for 33 with a brilliant yorker. Rubel became the fifth Bangladesh bowler to take 100 wickets in ODIs in the very next ball when Tendai Chatara played on to a fuller delivery. He was unable to claim the hattrick and eventually ended up with figures of two for 24 from his five overs.

INAUSPICIOUS DEBUT

Standing six feet eight inches above ground is generally thought to be an advantage when it comes to fast bowling, but yesterday it became a marked disadvantage for Zimbabwe's debutant pacer Blessing Muzarabani. In the 28th over of Bangladesh's chase of a below-par 171, the 21-year-old debutant bowled three successive no-balls, all to Tamim Iqbal. Replays showed that each successive overstep was closer to the line, but that he needed four deliveries to find his footing does not inspire confidence. On the other hand, a set Tamim could not take full toll of any of the three successive free hits, hinting at the youngster's talent.