Wesley Madhevere’s 57-ball 73 was well complemented by Blessing Muzarabani and Wellington Masakadza as Zimbabwe beat Bangladesh by 23 runs in the second ODI. With the series now level at 1-1, they now have the opportunity to wreak vengeance for the Test and ODI defeats by winning the decider.
Madhevere forged crucial partnerships with Dion Myers (26 in 21 balls) and Ryan Burl (39*) to take Zimbabwe to 166/6. Muzarabani and Masakadza then struck before Luke Jongwe’s triple blow wrapped up Bangladesh on 143.
Zimbabwe won the toss and opted to bat. After an uneventful first over, Madhevere welcomed Mehidy Hasan Miraz with a six and a four. But two balls later, Mehidy atoned by beating Tadiwanashe Marumani through the gate.
Regis Chakabva’s innings came to an end when his attempted hoick off Shakib Al Hasan fell into the grasp of Shoriful Islam. Madhevere, meanwhile, kept the scoreboard ticking. He and Myers added 57 for the third wicket. Burl provided the finishing touches to propel Zimbabwe to 166/6. For Bangladesh, Shoriful picked up 3-33.
Early setbacks then pushed Bangladesh to the back foot, and the Zimbabwe bowlers did well to sustain the pressure. Soumya Sarkar and Mohammad Naim fell inside the first three overs. Muzarabani removed both openers in the space of four deliveries.
Shakib and Mehidy tried to steady the ship with a couple of boundaries each to keep the asking rate in check. But Masakadza’s introduction after the Powerplay worked in Zimbabwe's favour. He got removed Shakib with his fourth ball, and picked two more wickets in his next over to reduce Bangladesh to 53/5.
Afif Hossain (24) and Shamim Hossain (29) brought the tourists back into the game with a 41-run partnership for the seventh wicket. Shamim smashed three fours and two sixes, but his dismissal in the 16th over dimmed the hope of Bangladesh’s victory. Jongwe picked up two more wickets in the last over to restrict Bangladesh to 143.
Brief Score: Zimbabwe 166/6 in 20 overs (Wesley Madhevere 73; Shoriful Islam 3-33) beat Bangladesh 143 in 19.5 overs (Shamim Hossain 29; Wellington Masakadza 3-20) by 23 runs. Player of the Match: Wesley Madhevere.