 Zimbabwe
will play Bangladesh in the second ODI of the series at the Harare Sports Club.
Bangladesh went down to the Zimbabwean side in the first ODI by four wickets,
but the game was as one-sided as it could get and that is one that the tourists
will be rather worried about.
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Bangladesh had come into the series rather confident about winning the games.
They lost the first Test match at Harare, but more importantly, they
lost it very easily, which means that the side needed to bounce back strongly
in the ODIs. And what happened in the first ODI was something that would have
not enthused the best of Bangladeshi cricket fans.
Batting first, Bangladesh were bowled out for a paltry score of 191
in 41 overs, thanks to the start that the home side had got - new bowler Brian
Vitori went on to take five wickets on his debut, thereby creating a record
as the Bangladeshis had lost the first five wickets for almost next to nothing.
It was only some batting by Shakib al Hasan and the rest of the lower
order that the Bangladeshis even got that close to the score.
What Bangladesh desperately need to do is to win the toss and field first. However,
if that does not happen, they need to tell themselves to bat out the first 20
overs, scoring, say 50 runs without losing more than one wicket. No airy-fairy
shot and nothing extravagant from the bat, till the ball loses its shine and the
spinners come on to bat, something that they have not been doing in the series
so far.
On the other hand, the Zimbabweans seem to have surprised the opposition and the
fans and in all probability they have done the same to themselves as well. Returning
into cricket after some time and having struggled in the World Cup, they have
exploited the conditions at home rather well. This means that they will also go
into the second ODI with a lot of confidence and if they can bat slightly better
in the middle of the innings, they will also be favourites to win the game this
time.
It could come down to how the spinners bowl in the end; Zimbabwean spinners were
much better than Bangladeshis in the first ODI.
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