Bangladesh beat Zimbabwe by eight wickets in the first match played in Harare to take a 1-0 lead in the T20I series. Playing first, Zimbabwe were all out after scoring 152 runs in 19 overs. Mustafizur Rahman took the highest three wickets from Bangladesh. In reply, Bangladesh easily chased down the target thanks to brilliant innings from Mohammad Naeem (66*) and Soumya Sarkar (50).
Bangladesh won the match
Zimbabwe added 92 runs after the loss of two wickets after the first 10 overs. After a good start, Zimbabwe’s wickets seemed to fall. However, Regis Chakabva (22 balls, 43 runs) batted vigorously from one end to take the team to a respectable score. In reply, the opening pair of Sarkar and Naeem took the team’s score beyond 100 in the 13th over itself, and Bangladesh achieved the target for the loss of two wickets.
Chasing the target, Soumya Sarkar batted carefully and scored the fourth half-century of his T20 career. During this, Sarkar has completed his 1,000 runs in T20 Internationals. He has become only the fifth batsman from Bangladesh to do so. He scored 50 runs in 45 balls with the help of four fours and two sixes, and he was run out on the team score of 102.
Naeem scored the second half-century of his career
Mohammad Naeem, playing his 10th T20 International, scored the second half-century of his career. He shared a record partnership of 102 runs for the first wicket with Sarkar. This became Bangladesh’s first-century partnership for the first wicket in T20 International cricket. Naeem scored an unbeaten 66 off 51 balls with the help of seven fours and gave his team victory.
Mustafizur overtakes Bumrah in terms of wickets
Veteran bowler Mustafizur Rahman conceded 31 runs in his quota of four overs and took three wickets during this period. He now has 61 wickets in 43 T20 Internationals at an average of 20.81. Mustafizur has left behind Mohammad Amir (59), Jasprit Bumrah (59) and Mitchell Santner (60) in terms of wickets. Mustafizur is the second-highest wicket-taker in T20Is after Shakib (93).