Craig Ervine and Brendan Taylor scored important half centuries as Zimbabwe recovered from an early collapse to post 271 for eight against Bangladesh in the opening match of the UAE ODI tri-series in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.
Zimbabwe lost three wickets for just 24 runs inside seven overs after choosing to bat first. However, Taylor and Ervine added 150 runs for the fourth wicket to bring their team back into the contest.
Taskin Ahmed gave Bangladesh a strong start with the ball. He dismissed Brian Bennett for a duck before removing Ben Curran and Tafadzwa Tsiga.
Zimbabwe were struggling at 24 for three when Taylor joined Ervine at the crease.
The two experienced batters took control of the innings and built a strong partnership. They played carefully at first before increasing the scoring rate.
Taylor scored 81 runs from 101 balls, hitting 10 fours. Ervine played an equally important role and made 93 from 106 deliveries, including nine boundaries.
Saif Hassan finally ended the partnership in the 37th over when he dismissed Taylor.
Zimbabwe then lost Sikandar Raza for just four runs. Saif claimed his second wicket to leave the visitors at 182 for five.
Ervine continued to hold the innings together and moved closer to a century. However, Shoriful Islam dismissed him for 93, leaving the Zimbabwe captain seven runs short of the milestone.
Shoriful also removed Brad Evans for five as Bangladesh tried to restrict Zimbabwe in the final overs.
Despite losing wickets, Zimbabwe continued to score quickly towards the end of their innings.
Wessly Madhevere played an attacking knock of 17 from 15 balls, while Newman Nyamhuri remained unbeaten on 21 from 17 deliveries.
Wellington Masakadza gave Zimbabwe a further boost with an unbeaten 21 from just 15 balls. His innings included two sixes.
Their late contributions helped Zimbabwe reach 271 for eight from their 50 overs after a difficult start.
Taskin was Bangladesh’s most successful bowler with three wickets for 44 runs from 10 overs.
Saif also impressed with the ball, taking two wickets for just 17 runs from three overs.
Shoriful claimed two wickets for 47 runs, while Rishad Hossain picked up one wicket but conceded 66 runs from nine overs.
Bangladesh now need 272 runs to win their opening match of the tournament.
