Big picture: Both teams have problems to solve
About three weeks ago, Bangladesh came into Zimbabwe on a high. They recorded series victories over Australia (ODI) and Pakistan (Tests). They gave their guns a rest before a one-time test, and since then everything has changed. Bangladesh had been defeated in the Test, they had lost ground in the ODI series, which Zimbabwe won 2-1, and could have gone into this game 2-0 down. And yet, they still hope to win the series and complete the tour.Of course, much of this was due to Zimbabwe’s shockingly poor performance in the previous game, where six chances were missed, but it means Bangladesh can take advantage and come from behind to win.
For Zimbabwe, fighting will be the biggest challenge. A little further will be their batting. The highest individual score and highest partnership score for them in two games was 44. Brian Bennett scored 44 in the first game, Milton Shumba and Sikandar Raza added 44 in the second.
While it’s not a bad thing to have bursts of smaller, quicker contributions in T20, keeping a player in the crease longer will be beneficial for Zimbabwe, especially when the run total is 170-180 and their bowlers are hitting their targets regularly.
Form Guide
Zimbabwe LWLLL (last five matches, starting with most recent)
Bangladesh BLLLLL
Spotlight: Sikandar Raza and Rishad Hossain
When Sikandar Raza came to bat in the second T20I, Zimbabwe were 21 for 3, chasing 187. He made 28 off 12 balls, which ensured they did not give up the game in the powerplay despite being cornered. Raza has always been a wily bowler who could run through a spell before you blink and return frugal figures. Combine all this with his razor-sharp concentration and you might have the team’s biggest match-winner.Rishad Hossain was out for the first T20I and when he returned, he took a four, starting with the wicket of Raza. His height and ability to turn the ball make him a tough player who can deflect batters when they are attacking or defending. Zimbabwe handled him well in 2024, giving him just five wickets in five games at an economy rate of 8.64. They will need to do something similar otherwise he will dictate the game in the middle overs.
Team News: Will Nahid Rana play?
The wait continues for Ben Curran to make his T20I debut. He still has a chance given that Tadivanashe Marumani was left out of the top spot. If Curran doesn’t do this, Zimbabwe could be left unchanged again.
Zimbabwe: 1 Brian Bennett, 2 Ben Curran/Tadivanashe Marumani (wk), 3 Dion Myers, 4 Sikandar Raza (capt), 5 Ryan Burle, 6 Milton Shumba, 7 Clive Madande, 8 Tashinga Musekiwa, 9 Brad Evans, 10 Richard Ngarawa, 11 Blessing Muzarabani
Nahid Rana left the field while bowling in the last game due to a seemingly collateral strain. If he is not fit, Shoriful Islam may get the game.
Bangladesh: 1 Tanzid Hasan, 2 Saif Hasan, 3 Parvez Hossain Emon, 4 Touhid Hridoy (capt), 5 Nurul Hasan (wk), 6 Yasir Ali, 7 Mahedi Hasan, 8 Rishad Hossain, 9 Mohammad Saifuddin, 10 Taskeen Ahmed, 11 Nahid Rana / Shoriful Islam
Field and conditions
Pace bowlers took the majority of wickets in three of the four innings of the series, with Rishad and Mahedi Hasan dominating the other. The Quickies will hope there is grass on the field. The weather is expected to be pleasant, around 25 degrees Celsius, with no rain forecast.
Statistics and trivia
- The team that won the toss batted first and lost both games in the series.
- Brad Evans is two runs away from reaching 50 T20I wickets.
- Brian Bennett is 57 minutes away from reaching 2000 T20I runs and 64 behind Ryan Burle, Zimbabwe’s second-highest T20I scorer.
Quotes
At the end of the day, you have to look back and see how your training went, and our training went great. We put time, effort and practice into perfecting it. But we have to be better as a group when it comes to fielding because that is the crucial point when you want to win a T20 international.
Bowling consultant in Zimbabwe Quinton Friend on their field
Ekanth is the Deputy Editor of Cricinfo.