Zimbabwe Stun Bangladesh, Wins ODI Series After Test Success

Zimbabwe stun Bangladesh [Source: screengrab]

Zimbabwe cricket team continues to haunt the visiting Bangladeshis at home. After scripting history in their one-off Test a couple of weeks ago, the ‘Chevrons’ also stunned the South Asian nation in the ODIs.

Taking on Bangladesh in the second ODI, Zimbabwe bowlers conjured a fighting victory as the hosts secured their three-match series with a game to spare.

Ben Curran tons up to take Zimbabwe to 247

Losing opening batter Brian Bennett for a five-ball duck to Taskin Ahmed on a difficult Harare Sports Club surface in the second ODI, the hosts also lost Test hero Innocent Kaia, number four Craig Ervine and middle-order batter Wessly Madhevere to crash to 66-4 around 16 overs.

England-born Zimbabwe opener Ben Curran, on the other hand, maintained his composure to punch out an elegant 111* off 135 balls with nine cracking boundaries. The cricketer shared a fighting 68-run partnership with all-rounder Sikandar Raza, who listed 33 runs from 53 balls from his end.

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Clive Madande’s wicket a while later once again endangered the Zimbabwe innings at 148-6 in 37 overs, before Brad Evans formed forces with the unbeaten opener. Both Evans and Ben Curran shared 99 runs for the seventh wicket from just 79 balls as Zimbabwe reached a competitive 247-6 by the completion of their innings.

Evans bludgeoned 58* runs off just 38 balls with two boundaries and five sixes to turbo-charge the Zimbabwe innings in the slog overs.

For Bangladesh, Taskin Ahmed (2-57) and Mehidy Hasan Miraz (2-32) picked up two wickets each in the innings.

Richard Ngarava leads Zimbabwe’s fightback to bundle out Bangladesh

Chasing 248, Bangladesh lost Soumya Sarkar and number three Najmul Hossain Shanto inside the first 10 overs. Tanzid Hasan and Towhid Hridoy unleashed fighting half-centuries to counterattack for the visitors, guiding them to 122-2 around the halfway stage of the innings.

However, wicket-taking spells from Brian Bennett, Wessly Madhevere, Sikandar Raza, Blessing Muzarabani, Brad Evans and a demolishing act from captain Richard Ngarava (3-55) enveloped Bangladesh for just 234 in 48.1 overs, even though the latter had reached 207-5 at one stage.

Zimbabwe ended up scripting a thrilling 13-run win to seal their three-match ODI series in the second ODI itself. Just a few days ago, the hosts also thrashed Bangladesh by 25 runs in a low-scoring thriller at the Harare Sports Club.

Ben Curran won the ‘Player of the Match’ award for his fighting century early in the game.

Fans hail Zimbabwe for rare ODI series win, warning issued to India

Zimbabwe’s victory over Bangladesh sparked a wave of social media reactions from fans and self-proclaimed cricket experts.

While some fans trolled the visiting Bangladesh team for losing their one-off Test by a record margin and for losing the ODI rubber, several others also issued a direct warning to Zimbabwe’s impending opponents at home, Team India.

Here is a look at some of the fans celebrating Zimbabwe’s ODI series win over Bangladesh.