Zimbabwe recovered from a mid-innings collapse to post 170 for 6 in 20 overs against Bangladesh in the opening T20I of the three-match series in Bulawayo on Wednesday.
After being asked to bat first, the hosts raced to 54 for 1 in the powerplay before Nahid Rana’s fiery spell derailed their innings. However, late cameos from Ryan Burl (30 off 25) and Brad Evans (19 off 10) ensured they reached a competitive total.
Nahid struck first by breaking the 37-run opening stand between Brian Bennett and Tadiwanashe Marumani. He then removed the well-set Bennett, who top-scored with 44 off 30 balls.
Returning for his second spell, Nahid came within a ball of a hat-trick by dismissing Milton Shumba and Tashinga Musekiwa with the first two deliveries of his third over.
The right-arm pacer had figures of 3 for 8 from his first three overs but could not finish as strongly. Bowling the final over of the innings, he conceded 18 runs, including four boundaries to Brad Evans, and ended with figures of 4 for 26 from his four overs.
Earlier, Mohammad Saifuddin also played a key role in Bangladesh’s control through the middle overs, claiming two wickets. His second victim was Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza, who made 20 off 13 balls. Before that, Dion Myers fell to Saifuddin after pulling a short ball to deep midwicket, where Rishad Hossain completed the catch.
