Zimbabwe 141 (Nyamhuri 33, Ngarawa 27, Rana 6-21, Taskin 2-32) win Bangladesh 116 (Nurul 31, Ngarawa 3-31, Evans 3-34, Nyamhuri 2-22, Muzarabani 2-24) 25 runs each
It was Newman Nyamhuri’s day – with bat and ball and on the field. He first made a career-best 33 from the 9th over and pushed Zimbabwe from 70 for 8 to 141. He then took two catches in the deep, the first of which was a deft effort as he tiptoed over the fine leg boundary. Nyamhuri also broke Bangladesh’s 49-run stand for the fourth wicket, opening the floodgates for a memorable victory. Zimbabwe successfully defended 141 runs, beating Bangladesh by 25 runs.It was an ODI game of bowlers on a sharp pitch in Harare. Nahid Rana made this evident by taking 6 for 21, the best figures by a Bangladesh bowler in this format. The pace and bounce that tested Zimbabwe’s batters also troubled Bangladesh as not a single over of spin was bowled out of the 33.1 needed to defend.Left-arm quick Richard Ngarawa, leading Zimbabwe for the first time in ODIs, was also effective with both bat and ball. Ngarawa added 63 with Nyamhuri for the ninth wicket, during which he scored 27. Accordingly, he bowled the last Bangladeshi wicket and finished with 3 for 31 to end in victory.
Much of the damage Bangladesh suffered was their own fault. After the top three batters had given up their wickets, Tohid Hridoy and Mehidy Hasan Miraz repeated the trick with deliveries that ideally should have been pushed towards the boundary.
Nahid Rana took a career-best and best ODI figure for Bangladesh with 6 for 21.•Zimbabwe Cricket
It all started in the second over when Blessing Muzarabani bowled when Tanzid Hasan played a short ball to Nyamhuri, who was straighter than usual on fine leg. When Nyamhuri realized the momentum was taking him out of bounds, he threw the ball back onto the field, stepped over it, then re-entered and calmly completed the catch. In the fourth over, Najmul Hossain Shanto took a single off Ben Curran at deep third as Muzarabani got his second wicket. Three balls later, Soumya Sarkar also took Ngarawa to deep third and Nyamhuri took his second catch.
Bangladesh were 17 for 3 and Zimbabwe tasted frustration but Hridoy and Nurul Hasan dug in. Ngarawa used attacking pitches – two runs were a given for much of the partnership – as both batters continued to be bowled. Hridoy and Nurul seemed to be in no hurry, but just as Bangladesh began to gradually gain momentum, Hridoy, who was 25, brilliantly hit a short and wide ball outside off Nyamhuri in the 19th over. Curran, at third, almost overtook the ball before moving quickly to left to catch it.
From then on, everything went wrong for Bangladesh. From 66 for 3, they were bowled out for 7 for 50 and were bowled out for 116. In the 21st over, Nyamhuri forced Mosaddek Hossain to defend. Three overs later, Mehidy suffered another big run in the outfield when Brian Bennett lunged forward to take a low catch at deep cover to give Ngarawa his second wicket.
Rishad Hossain, with 89 for 6, joined Nurul as the last recognized Bangladesh batter, but they could do little. Due to the lack of DRS, 31-year-old Nurul was unable to review what appeared to be a difficult weight decision that was against him. Evans, who struck that blow, caught Rishad and Taskin in his next two overs before Ngarawa sealed the victory.
Newman Nyamhuri’s win over Tawheed Hridoi was the key moment in the chase.•Zimbabwe Cricket
But before Bangladesh, Zimbabwe’s batting also collapsed. They were 8 for 34 after their openers Bennett and Curran made 36. Mehidy decided to bowl after noticing moisture on the pitch and cloudy conditions above. Although the start did not go in favor of his bowlers, things turned around in no time. Curran fell short of 18 as Mehidi’s shot from mid-off hit stumps before Taskin and Rana started the party.
Taskin caught Bennett for 17 two balls later, and began the ninth over with Craig Erwin’s delivery for a first-ball duck with a beautiful ball that was short and came off the top of middle stump. Rana came into play late in the 14th over and his extra speed on the utility pitch made him difficult to deal with. By the time his first spell was over, Rana had Sikandar Raza caught behind, Wessley Madhevere had his second slip saved, Clive Madande struck, Innocent Kaya was also caught by the wicket-keeper and Evans was lbw.
Evans became Rana’s fifth wicket as the Bangladeshi quickly completed his third ODI five of the year. Rana got his sixth wicket when he cleared Ngarawa with a yorker to end what turned out to be a defining encounter.
But where Bangladesh threatened to bowl Zimbabwe out for less than 100, Nyamhuri and Ngarawa fought back to give Zimbabwe an extra chance. By the end of the day, they also contributed on the ball to turn that outside chance into a win.
Himanshu Agrawal is Deputy Editor of Cricinfo