Bangladesh will look to finish their Zimbabwe tour on a high by clinching the T20I series when they take on the hosts in the third and final match at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo on Sunday.
The Towhid Hridoy-led side levelled the three-match series 1-1 with a 34-run victory at the same venue on Friday after losing the opening game.
Openers Tanzid Hasan Tamim and Saif Hassan struck half-centuries to provide a solid platform before Yasir Ali and Mohammad Saifuddin combined for an unbeaten 45-run stand off just 19 balls, powering Bangladesh to 185-5.
The bowlers then completed the job as spin duo Mahedi Hasan and Rishad Hossain shared seven wickets to dismiss Zimbabwe for 152 and force a series decider.
Bangladesh had earlier lost the one-off Test in Harare before going down 2-1 in the ODI series. Victory on Sunday would allow them to leave Zimbabwe with a T20I series win.
The visitors, however, will be without frontline pacers Nahid Rana and Shoriful Islam. Nahid suffered a side strain during the second T20I after bowling only 2.3 overs and finishing with figures of 1-15, while Shoriful returned home following a hamstring injury sustained in the series opener.
With their pace stocks depleted, Bangladesh are expected to bring in Abdul Gaffar Saqlain to partner Taskin Ahmed and Mohammad Saifuddin, while Mahedi and Rishad will again spearhead the spin attack.
Zimbabwe, meanwhile, will look to bounce back after a costly fielding display in the second T20I, where they dropped seven catches.
“We knew that the wicket was going to get better before it started to spin. But to be honest, as a captain, I’m genuinely embarrassed to be here. The way we fielded had a ripple effect into our batting,” Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza said after the match.
Bangladesh batter Yasir Ali insisted the team’s comeback was built on unity rather than desperation.
“It wasn’t desperation,” Yasir said in a Bangladesh Cricket Board video released on Saturday.
“The thing was that all of us were trying, from our respective positions, to give our best. The biggest thing was that we all took the field with the team’s bonding spirit in mind, that we would play for Bangladesh and, Inshallah, make Bangladesh win. I think that was what most of the boys had in mind.”
Yasir said Bangladesh would carry the same mindset into Sunday’s series decider.
“We had a gym session and a recovery session, which will hopefully motivate us to do even better. We will try to approach the game the same way we did in the last match. The approach will always be positive. Of course, we will try to win the series for our country,” he said.
