 Bangladesh has taken a 2-0 lead over Zimbabwe by beating them rather convincingly
in the second ODI at Bulawayo. With three more games to be played, Zimbabwe will
now need to win all the remaining three games to win the series, and the first
of which will be played on Friday in the same ground.
Click for Live Score Card of Zimbabwe vs Bangladesh
Bangladesh owe a lot of their success in the last six months or so to their
all-rounder and now captain Shakib-al-Hasan. It wasn't too different on Tuesday
when he smashed an arousing century - his third in ODIs - and then scalped an
important wicket while throttling the Zimbabwean batting with his miserly figures.
The previous game also saw Tamim Iqbal play a stellar role in getting
his team to a score of more than 300 in the fifty overs.
What has been good about the Bangladeshi batsmen is that their top-order has
been performing rather well, with at least one or the other batsman taking charge
when it has mattered. So, one or more of the top four, in Iqbal, Junaid Siddique,
Mohammad Ashraful and Shakib have performed well and that has seen the
visitors to big enough totals in their last five ODIs. The same cannot be said
about their bowling though, as they have consistently lost their quick bowlers
due to injuries. The spinners have done their job, but something does tell me
that the Bulawayo track may no longer support the slow bowlers and will be of
much more help to the quickies.
For Zimbabwe, Mark Vermeulen could still be the man to watch out for.
He had a 92 to his name, apart from the wrong decision that he got in the second
ODI. Sean Williams had played well for his half century as well, as did
the bespectacled Charles Coventry, but what Zimbabwe really need is for someone
in top order to take control of the game and bat through the innings. Hamilton
Mazakazda and Stuart Matsikenyeri need to take charge and bat well
against the quick bowlers before the spinners come onto bowl and throttle the
hosts.
But the biggest problem that Zimbabwe has is with their bowling. Their only
experienced bowler is Ray Price, and apart from him the other quick bowlers
can barely be termed as that; fast. This has allowed the Bangladeshis to go
after the bowling even when under pressure and caused runs to leak through.
To me it does look like Zimbabwe will need to pull a rabbit out of the hat
to try and win this third game in the series.
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