Zimbabwe, Bangladesh clash next in CWC Super League
Harare Sports Club, Harare
16 July, 09:30am Local
The ODI series allows Zimbabwe to make a recovery in the ICC Cricket World Cup Super League after they slipped to the bottom position in the standings powered by MRF Tyres. Zimbabwe currently has only one win in their three games played while Bangladesh sits in second position with 50 points.
Although Bangladesh dominated most of the one-off Test, Zimbabwe showed glimpses of a fightback. While the hosts' bowlers struggled to contain the runs, their batters did well and impressed with steady performances.
The visitors will miss the services of Mushfiqur Rahim, who has flown back to Dhaka for personal reasons. This void will likely be filled by Liton Das, who is the only other wicket-keeper in the squad. Mustafizur Rahman could be unavailable for the opening ODI due to an ankle injury he sustained during the warm-up game.
For the hosts, Brendan Taylor will be captaining the 16-man squad. The usual suspects return as Zimbabwe will look to bank on the form of white-ball stars to hope for a turnaround in fortunes.
Remember the last time:
It was an act of domination by Bangladesh the last time these two sides locked horns in Sylhet in March 2020. Bangladesh posted 322/3 in 43 overs (after overs were reduced due rain) thanks to Liton Das’ career-best score of 176 and Tamim Iqbal’s steady 128.
Zimbabwe in reply faltered in their chase as wickets fell at regular intervals with Sikander Raza top-scoring with a 50-ball 60. Bangladesh successfully bowled out Zimbabwe for 218, securing a 123-run win.
What they said:
Tamim Iqbal: "I don't see any window of doing any big changes... obviously, you can do experiments in the bilateral series if you've already won or even lost the series, but whenever the ODI Super League is involved, then the result becomes very important. So I think we should play our best team in the upcoming three matches."