Bangladesh in Zimbabwe, 2013

The last 18 months have largely been encouraging for Bangladesh, and they had a pretty decent tour of Sri Lanka and an ODI series win against the West Indies recently. So they should be more confident than ever, going into this tour. they do have injury concerns. Mashrafe Mortaza didn't even make the test squad with injury, star players Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan are expected to play a limited role in the early part of the tour.
As for Zimbabwe, after an encouraging return to the test fold where they started off by defeating Bangladesh and challenging Pakistan and New Zealand, thinks have fallen away quite a bit. They haven't been able to put up much of a challenge against the West Indies in the recent tour, and the occasional rifts between the board and players can evolve into a crisis any time. Craig Ervine, the younger brother of Shaun, has refused a ZC winter contract, and isn't available for the Bangladesh series either.
For Bangladesh, this is a tour to show the world that they are attaining greater consistency and continue the process of putting together a confident outfit. For Zimbabwe, this is an opportunity to start things a fresh.
So an interesting series on the cards, in the midst of all the T-20 excitement generated by the IPL.

The first test has just got underway. Bangladesh won the toss and are fielding.
They are without Tamim Iqbal who's thumb injury is not yet fully healed. Shahriar Nafees is back in and should open along with Jahurul Islam. Shakib is available and playing, but he might play only a limited role with the ball, and so Bangladesh are playing Enamul Hak JNR along with Sohag Gazi as the additional spin option. Rubel Hossain and Robiul Islam are the seamers.
Zimbabwe are missing the solidity of opener Tino Mawoyo up front, as he's out with a back injury.

All-rounder Timycen Maruma is opening the innings along with Sibanda.

Robiul Islam takes out Sibanda with an absolute ripper. A terrific Yorker from Robiul, Sibanda had no idea and the middle stump went flying.
Hamilton Masakadza joins Maruma. Zimbabwe are 16-1.

Now Robiul takes out Maruma, given out LBW for 10. Skipper Brendon Taylor joins Hamilton. The 2 senior batsmen out in the middle have the responsibility to see Zimbabwe through to a decent total now. Zimbabwe 23-2.

Robiul Islam, who has had a bit of a reputation of losing steam a touch too quickly, is into his 9th over of the spell. Must say that again, is a good sign for Bangladesh. Seems to have worked on his fitness.
Also interesting from Mushfiqur, he brought on Nasir Hossain, a usually underrated and often underbowled bowler in my view, ahead of Sohag Gazi.

Zimbabwe are going along at 2 an over, they have reached 121-3 . Skipper Brendon Taylor is batting on 54, and Malcolm Waller is batting on 22. Hamilton Masakadza the last man out for 25, Enamul Hak with the wicket.

I think this thread is not going interesting among the members. These two teams has really exposed their tempo of being the top test team. It is really cherishing to see bottom teams showing their skills. Presently Zimbabwe has recovered from the early break through. Captain Taylor is really going well with
88 runs and waller has provided an excellent support to him in the 125 run patnership. With 191 on the board though scored at a bit slow rate but are in a better position now.

Zimbabwe have started decently, if Bangladesh lose this series then surely their status as a Test nation must be re-considered.

Zimbabwe batted slowly by modern day standards of test cricket in the first couple of sessions, but then Waller and Taylor picked things up, and at stumps they are 217-4. Skipper Brendan Taylor is batting on 105, and Elton Chigumbura is giving him company on 6. Elton usually bats quick, they do have a bit more batting left. If Zimbabwe can reach 350, then it will be a big challenge for Bangladesh. Shakib not being able to bowl hasn't helped Bangladesh. I thought Sohag Gazi, their 2nd best bowler, was underbowled on the first day, while Enamul Hak bowled 23 overs, Gazi, who was introduced only midway into the 2nd session, bowled only 11 overs. If Bangladesh can restrict Zimbabwe to under 350, think they'll take it.

After having lost 2 early wickets, those of Elton Chgumbura to Rubel Hossain and debutant wicketkeeper Richmond Mutumbami to Robiul Islam, Zimbabwe have recovered to 285-6 at lunch. Skipper Taylor is solid on 135, and Graeme Cremer is giving him good company, batting on 20.
Very interestingly, Shakib took the ball in the last over before lunch. He was expected to resume bowling only by the 2nd test. Good commitment there from Shakib, but he shouldn't stretch himself too much.

Zimbabwe had another good session, they've reached 377-8 at tea. Meth(19) and the younger Masakadza(14) are at the crease. Skipper Taylor was out for 171, and Cremer contributed 42. Gazi accounted for Cremer, and Taylor was out to Enamul Haque. Shakib bowled 7 tight overs.
Bangladesh are on the backfoot at the moment. They need to bat really well to save the game.

Pressure all on Bangladesh now, Brendan Taylor's innings of 171 has worked wonders. Oops, just as I write Zimbabwe spill a chance in the first over.

Bangladesh also has depth in batting with Nasser Hussain Coming at no. 7. I hope Bangladesh would give a strong reply. they are now going with 5 an over. Their last series was fabulous. Though 389 seems big but I hope a century from Captain here.

Its first wicket down for BD. Shahriar Nafees was looking good but got a leading edge and caught at point. Finally Jarvis got the reward.

Shahriar Nafees has done it time and time again, he had a very promising start to his test career with that fabulous hundred against Australia, but since then he hasn't really shown the necessary application to convert these attractive 20s and 30s into substantive test innings. Think its a matter of temperament with him.

Bangladesh finish the day at 95-1. Jahurul on 38, Ashraful on 23. Its been a busy response from Bangladesh, and good one so far.. But Zimbabwe have the score on the board, a couple of early wickets can still put Bangladesh under a lot of pressure.

From Cricinfo

From the various things Mushfiqur Rahim (WK/C) said stood behind the wicket, two sentences firmly stood out. "Gazi, I feel like taking my gloves off and having a bowl,"

Gazi ended up with 2 - 55 of 22 overs

After a slowish morning, Bangladesh lose Jahurul Islam. He's gone in the 40s yet again, this should be infuriating for the coach as well as the batsman, Jahurul seems to always get a start, do all the hardwork and then get out in the 30s or 40s. Gone for 43 this time and Bangladesh are 102-2. Mahmudullah, who's batting form suffered considerabley in Sri Lanka, is in at 4, ahead of Shakib and Mushfiqur.

Meth has taken out Mahmudullah, he goes for 3, Bangladesh struggling at 112-3.

Shakib in at 5. Bangladesh need a partnership, and they need a bit of a move on.

Double strike from Shingi Masakadza. Shakib was surprised by a shortish ball that had some extra bounce and offered a catch to Sibanda close in. Then Ashraful had a moment of madness like the Ashraful of old, tried to pull a ball on off stump, 2 balls after Shakib got out, and managed to find the deep midwicket fielder. Bangladesh are 131-5 at the moment, Mushfiqur Rahim and Nasir Hossain with a lot of ground to cover.

I was just checking the scores on cricinfo, I was amazed to see the team that has scored bunch of runs in SL has slumped to such a low total. Previous day they were looking quite strong with scoring runs at run rate 4+. With only 3 batsmen have crossed the single figure and 4 ducks, BD is in big danger now. Even if Zimbabwe score 100 runs in second inning, I see a huge defeat for BD.

subhranshu.kumar.5 wrote:I was just checking the scores on cricinfo, I was amazed to see the team that has scored bunch of runs in SL has slumped to such a low total. Previous day they were looking quite strong with scoring runs at run rate 4+. With only 3 batsmen have crossed the single figure and 4 ducks, BD is in big danger now. Even if Zimbabwe score 100 runs in second inning, I see a huge defeat for BD.

95/6,

BD underperformed, few questionable decisions against them, but their fielding has cost the game in my opinion

Zim lead 350, with BD batting line up, if they bat well they can chase anything upto 400, nasir who averages in mid 40's comes in at number 7, gazi averages 27 in first class, seen him bat, he should end up with a average around 20 in tests

Looking at Cricinfo, no one below the no.3 made more than 7 in Bangladesh's innings! 102/1 to 134 all out is simply not good enough. See Taylor is back in the runs again for Zimbabwe.

Bangladesh had an atrocious morning session, capped by them losing 6-0 to get bowled out for 134. Then Zimbabwe responded with a mini collapse of their own. But skipper Taylor yet again coming to the rescue of his side, yet again well supported by Graeme Cremer. They are 187-7 at stumps, leading by 442. Think this game is well out of Bangladesh's reach. A couple of decisions went against them, but it has been an atrocious batting display from them, after doing so well in Sri Lanka and raising the hopes of cricket lovers, this has been a throwback to the bad old days. Very disappointing.
But credit for Zimbabwe, they fought it out with the bat, showing remarkable restraint, and they managed to play on the impatience of the Bangladesh batsmen and bowled really well today.

Brendan Taylor becomes the third Zimbabwean to score hundreds in each innings of a Test match.

Taylor is also the first Zimbabwean skipper to achieve the feat.

Classy player is Brendan Taylor!

Bangladesh were already up against it. Today morning skipper Brendan Taylor reached his hundred without fuss, and Zimbabwe declared with a lead of 482. Thinks haven't gone Bangladesh's way since then either. Shahriar Nafees was taken out by Jarvis early, and just when he looked reasonably set, Jahurul Islam found himself at the wrong end of a poor umpiring call to get out caught behind of Shingi Makadza for 22, minutes before lunch. Bangladesh are persisting with the out of form Mahmudullah at 5, and he and Mohammed Ashraful have a massive job on their hands in the next session and for the rest of the game. Bangladesh are 42-2 at the moment.

msp83 wrote:Bangladesh were already up against it. Today morning skipper Brendan Taylor reached his hundred without fuss, and Zimbabwe declared with a lead of 482. Thinks haven't gone Bangladesh's way since then either. Shahriar Nafees was taken out by Jarvis early, and just when he looked reasonably set, Jahurul Islam found himself at the wrong end of a poor umpiring call to get out caught behind of Shingi Makadza for 22, minutes before lunch. Bangladesh are persisting with the out of form Mahmudullah at 5, and he and Mohammed Ashraful have a massive job on their hands in the next session and for the rest of the game. Bangladesh are 42-2 at the moment.

normally BD gets poor decisions against bigger nations, I can understand, but against Zim??, Umpiring has been very poor against BD

Taylor is an outstanding player, Wicket Keeping not the best, but good batsman - often plays just as a batsman for Zim

Bangladesh continue to struggle. 105-5. Ashraful and Nasir trying to prolong the fight, not that they have put up much of a fight. Mahmudullah came out swinging after lunch, played some fine shots, and in the end played one shot too many and was caught at deep midwicket for 21. Shakib and Mushfiqur couldn't do much both got good balls to get out, Taylor's catch to get Mushfiqur was a pretty good one. The new and improved Ashraful has taken his time so far. But with Ashraful, you really can't say, he did the hard work in the first innings and then the old Ashraful returned to ruin it all.

Bangladesh crumbled to a pathetic loss. Atrocious no-show from their batting lineup and the lower was an absolute embarrassment.
All credit to Zimbabwe, they stuck it out with the bat in the first innings and maintained greater discipline with both bat and ball throughout the match. Brilliant performance from skipper Brendan Taylor.

The 2nd sest started today. Bangladesh are batting, and they are 235-4. Shakib and captain Mushfiqur are at the crease, having completed their respective 50s.
It could have been a lot better for Bangladesh. All 4 wickets were results of poor shots or poor judgement. Tamim Iqbal, returning from injury, yet again showed his class to score 49, before a single that was never there and was run out. Jahurul Islam, who played the moving ball very well to get to 24 having survived the first hour, then attempted a very unnecessary lofted shot and found the fielder with ease. Ashraful then became Ashraful of old, attempting a pull shot of a ball that was bouncing on the off stump line and edged it to gully, and then Mominul Haque offered an easy catch to the cover fielder after getting set.

Bangladesh have welcomed Tamim back after injury and Shahriar Nafees went out. They dropped Mahmudullah and mominul came in for him, and enamul Haque jnr was replaced by Ziaur Rahman, and Rubel Hossain gave way to Sajidul Islam.

Zimbabwe recalled Regis Chakabva in place of replacement opener Timycen Maruma, but Richmond Mutumbami would continue to keep.

Mushfiqur Rahim, who has shown great temperament so far, gets away with a close call now, Very nearly stumped of Cremer there, a 50-50 call, and umpire gave the benefit of doubt to the Bangladesh skipper.

Oh. Now Shakib has given it awy. Trying to charge Elton Chigumbura and only managed an edge to the keeper. He was batting so very well, had already collected 6 runs of that over, very disappointing from such an experienced player who usually shows pretty good temperament. The new ball is due in a short time, Nasir Hossain walks out to a pressure situation.

In the last test, the Bangladesh batting pretty much ended at 7, and the rest of them couldn't put together 10 runs across the 2 innings. Another wicket, Zimbabwe will be very much on top. Zia can hit them alright, and Sohag Gazi can bat, but Bangladesh's chances very much depend on this partnership.

Zimbabwe have had enough of these gifts!!!. Mushfiqur offers an easy catch with a top edged slog, Graeme Cremer fails to hold on. Can't understand why well set batsmen have to play such horrendous shots!.

Now another chance put down, this time of Nasir. Dificult chance alright, but captain Taylor couldn't hold on. Cremer, who has had his more than fare share of fielding mishaps today, the bowler at the wrong end this time.

Cremer is really getting the ball to turn and bounce. Gazi and Shakib should be encouraged by that. But the new ball should be available after one over, interesting to see what Taylor's approach would be.

Jarvis gets Mushfiqur LBW. He goes for 60, Bangladesh 280-6

Ziaur Rahman, on test debut, joins Nasir.

Nasir is trying to play his shots here, moved along to 30 of 29. He was not quite willing to trust the lower order last time either, it didn't come off for him then, think he should at least show some trust with Zia and Gazi, they can bat a bit, and Nasir is too good a batsman to throw his wicket away, looking for quick runs.

Bangladesh 300-6. Another 4 overs to play out, but Nasir seems intent on playing his shots.

Meth is back. Hopefully Nasir curbs himself, and will be there to fight on for another day.

Bangladesh finish the day on 300-6. Nasir on 37, Ziaur on 8. They would be reasonably pleased with the end of the day score, but it could have been a lot better. But then it may not have been, Zimbabwe were pretty sloppy in the field, gifting many chances to the batsmen. Good knock from Shakib despite the pretty poor end and a fighting knock from Mishfuqur, a good but unfulfilled effort from Tamim Iqbal, and a promising effort from young Nasir Hossain, who has the responsibility to push Bangladesh towards 350+ tomorrow.

Nasir Hossain took his score to 74 before he was 9th out, bowled round leg by Cremer, and Sohag Gazi chipped in with 21. Bangladesh have reached 373-9 as of now, a decent total.

Robiul Islam slogged effectively to score 24 not out, and carried Bangladesh total to 391. Elton Chigumbura with 3 wickets for Zimbabwe, and Meth and Cremerwith 2 each. Kyle Jarvis, Zimbabwe's best bowler, didn't have the best of times, just 1 wicket in the innings, and he went at over 4. Shingi Masakadza didn't bowl today and finished with Ashraful's wicket that he took yesterday.

Cremer was really getting some balls to turn and bounce sharply. Zimbabwe aren't the best when it comes to playing quality spin in helpful circumstances. Bangladesh have a fit again Shakib Al Hasan, and Sohag Gazi who can really get the ball to turn. Robiul has been in good form, and Sajidul and Zia could offer some fresh energy. So it won't be easy for Zimbabwe. They really need to bat well here in this first innings of their's.

Zimbabwe are 77-3. Skipper Taylor and Waller, who frustrated Bangladesh big time in the first test are at it again. So far they've put together 32 and they have taken their time in doing so.
For Bangladesh, Robiul Islam has been quite superb with the ball, consistently getting the ball to bounce and move away. He accounted for the Zimbabwe openers in a long first spell. Then Shakib Al Hasan cleaned up Hamilton Masakadza. Mushfiqur has been overbowling Robiul, and he hasn't been using Sohag Gazi all that well. Gazi hasn't had a bowl as yet, even after 38 overs of the Zimbabwe innings.