Zim win on Madziva heroics

Zimbabwe pulled off an unlikely 3-wicket victory when Neville Madziba smashed 18 runs in the last over bowled by Nasir to level the two-match T20I series against Bangladesh at Mirpur today.

He was unbeaten on 28 runs, played only 19 balls and smashed a four and two sixes in the final over of the match to deny Bangladesh a clean-sweep of the T20 series.

Madziba was adjudged the man-of-the-match for his heroics.

His colleague Malcolm Waller was chosen as the player-of-the-series for his consistent performance.

His 40 in 27 balls ensured Zimbabwe reach home after wickets kept falling at the other end. Waller picked his moments to attack, and managed to hit two 4s and three 6s during his stay at the crease.

For Bangladesh, Al-Amin Hossain was the most successful bowler in the match, and he took three wickets for 20 runs in four tight overs.

Needless to say, Nasir conceded the most runs among his teammates, and was carted around Mirpur for 45 runs in 3.5 overs.

Al-Amin returned for his last spell and gave his team the upper hand when he dismissed Jongwe to leave Zimbabwe in tatters.

Jongwe was instrumental in the 55-run stand with Walller for the sixth wicket. He scored 34 from 38 balls, and struck a solitary boundary in his knock.

Arafat Sunny took the fifth wicket to fall as the visitors found themselves in a rut after losing half their side inside ten overs.

Tigers left-arm spinner saw Zimbabwe captain Chigumbura step down the track and loft his shot straight down the throat of Mahmudullah at long-off for a two-ball duck.

Craig Ervine was looking good but had to return to the pavilion due to a terrible mix-up with his partner that cost his wicket. He scored 15 from 17 balls with a huge six to his name.

Mustafizur Rahman continued the good work from Al-Amin and took the wicket of Chakabva in his first over as well.

Chakabva made room for the fullish delivery, heaved and got an edge that went high on the off side and Sabbir at point took the catch quite comfortably.

Al-Amin of Bangladesh took two wickets in his first over to stall Zimbabwe’s chase in the second T20I of the series.

Bangladesh cricketer Mustafizur Rahman (C) celebrates with teammates after the dismissal of Chamu Chibhabha . Photo: AFP

Earlier, Zimbabwe kept Bangladesh down to a below-par total of 135 in the last T20I of the series under the lights.

Anamul Haque was the last man out for Bangladesh, when he was run-out in the last over. He kept the innings together when wickets fell at the other end.

He was easily the top-scorer for Tigers today, and the 47 runs he scored from 51 balls with three boundaries was extremely crucial in the context of the match.

Arafat Sunny couldn’t resist the temptation of a big shot, and perished in the process when his effort at clearing the fence found Jongwe at wide long-on for a simple outfield catch. He managed to score five runs.

Tigers skipper didn’t bother the scorers, as he lost his off-stump to a peach of a delivery from Madziba, and became the seventh wicket to fall for his team.

After smashing couple of scintillating boundaries, Mahmudullah was left stunned at the crease when he saw Jongwe pull off an amazing catch at cover.

Mahmudullah hammered a fullish ball outside off with all his might, almost assured of another boundary but instead Jongwe took a blinder just inches off the ground.  

Nasir Hossain failed to fire when Bangladesh needed the quick runs to finish the innings. He dragged a slower ball from Panyangara on to his stumps to be dismissed for 3.

The 39-run stand between Sabbir Rahman and Anamul Haque removed the early jitters, but Sabbir’s dismissal threw the cat among the pigeons as far as the hosts were concerned.

Sabbir was not at his best form, and didn’t look comfortable during his 18-ball stay at the wicket when he scored 17 runs.

Graeme Cremer finished his spell of four overs with the wicket of Sabbir.

Graeme Cremer got the important wicket of Mushfiqur Rahim with his first ball when the Tigers batter top-edged his sweep to Williams at square-leg. Mushfiqur faced 11 balls for his nine runs.

Imrul Kayes followed his opening partner back to the pavilion when he sliced his drive to point where Williams took a brilliant diving catch and left the batter baffled at the crease.

Imrul managed 10 runs before he was dismissed by Tendai Chisoro

After a flurry of boundaries, Tamim threw away his wicket with a wild heave across the line.

Having struck Neville Madziva for a six in the first ball, Tamim had a rush of blood and charged down the track to a short-of-length ball. The batsman didn’t middle it, and saw Chigumbura take a relatively easy catch at long-on.

Tamim scored 21 from 15 balls with a four and two 6s to his name.

Bangladesh openers Imrul Kayes and particularly Tamim Iqbal came out with a positive frame of mind, and took advantage of the batting track with true bounce at Mirpur.

Tamim played some lovely drives through line, and used his trademark pull off the hip to score big on the leg-side.

Bangladesh T20I captain Mashrafe Mortaza won the toss and decided to bat first in the last match of the 2-game series against Zimbabwe at Mirpur stadium.

Today’s game is the last match for Tigers in 2015 according to International Cricket Council’s calendar. Bangladesh would want to end the memorable year on a high with the T20 series sweep.

It's the last match of the series, the last of Zimbabwe's tour, and their last chance to salvage some pride by notching a win in Bangladesh. They have lost everything so far, barring the tour game against the BCB XI before the one-dayers.

The first T20 on Friday is reason enough to believe that the second game on Sunday would be another close one.

Zimbabwe presented a strong defence after registering a below-par score, reducing Bangladesh to 80 for five, but ultimately 131 was never a great challenge for the hosts.

While Mashrafe Bin Mortaza enjoyed smacking those boundaries in the end and finishing off the game in style, he wasn't particularly happy with his batsmen's approach.

"Obviously we didn't want to chase the target that way. We seemed to be in a bit of a hurry. I think we should have just batted normally. But on the whole, the win was important. Hopefully everyone will play according to plan in the next match," said Mashrafe in the post-match press conference

Malcolm Waller said the ball kept low at times on the Sher-e-Bangla surface.

It remains a 150-160 pitch for teams batting first, but there was evidence that if a batsman wanted to target the shortened boundaries it was hard to stop.

The weather has been pleasant with cooler temperatures.

Zimbabwe players celebrate the fall of a wicket. File Photo: AFP

Bangladesh Squad

Mashrafe Mortaza (Captain), Al-Amin Hossain, Anamul Haque, Arafat Sunny, Imrul Kayes, Jubair Hossain, Kamrul Islam Rabbi, Liton Das (Wicketkeeper), Mahmudullah, Mushfiqur Rahim (Wicketkeeper), Mustafizur Rahman, Nasir Hossain, Sabbir Rahman and Tamim Iqbal

Zimbabwe Squad

E Chigumbura (Captain), RW Chakabva (Wicketkeeper), CJ Chibhabha, TS Chisoro, AG Cremer, CR Ervine, LM Jongwe, N Madziva, WP Masakadza, CT Mutombodzi, T Muzarabani, J Nyumbu, T Panyangara, Sikandar Raza, MN Waller and  SC Williams

While Mashrafe Bin Mortaza enjoyed smacking those boundaries in the end and finishing off the game in style, he wasn't particularly happy with his batsmen's approach in the 1st T20I. File Photo: STAR