Cricket: Zim loses ODI opener

Bangladesh - 281/7 ( Shakib Al Hasan 101, Mushfiqur Rahim 65; Tinashe Panyangara 3-66, Tendai Chatara 2-48)

Zimbabwe - 194 all out ( Brendan Taylor 54; Shakib Al Hasan 4-41)

Bangladesh won by 87 runs

Shakib Al Hasan produced another masterful performance with both bat and ball that helped Bangladesh cricket cruise to a comfortable 87-run victory against Zimbabwe in the first one-day international match at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chittagong on Friday.

Shakib, who is making it a habit to single-handedly influence every match he partakes in featuring Zimbabwe, struck his sixth century to guide his team to an imposing total of 281/7 before weaving his magic with the ball to claim four wickets that crippled Zimbabwe to 194 all out.

After being put in to bat by Zimbabwe, Shakib came in to bat during a difficult period after Tinashe Panyangara and Tendai Chatara had done well to make early inroads.
Panyangara got rid of the dangerous Tamim Iqbal for 5, while Chatara removed Anamul Haque (12) and Mahmudullah for 1. Shakib took guard and bossed the innings all the way to 101, featuring in a national record 148-run partnership with Mushfiqur Rahim for the fifth wicket.

Rahim chipped in with a useful 65 and debutant Sabbir Rahman provided the acceleration at the back end of the innings with a quick-fire 44 that helped the hosts add 52 runs in the last 5 overs.

Veteran seamer Tinashe Panyangara was the pick of the bowlers for Zimbabwe picking up three wickets, but they came at a cost of 66 runs as he received some tap during the business end of the innings. Panyangara's  new-ball partner Tendai Chatara ended with 2-48.

Zimbabwe's response got off to a very encouraging start, with openers Sikandar Raza Butt picking up boundaries at will against the hosts' new ball bowlers. At one stage Zimbabwe was 47 without loss after six overs, but as soon as spin was introduced wickets started tumbling.

Raza(15) advanced down the track and went past a Shakib delivery that spun into the wicket-keeper's gloves for an easy stumping. Vusimuzi Sibanda (0), who seemingly is unsure where his next run will come from, came in at three and tried to sweep the second ball he faced but only achieved getting a top edge to short fine leg.

Hamilton Masakadza muscled his way to 42 and looked set for a big knock until he was trapped in front by Mahmudullah. Only Brendan Taylor found some fluency, top-scoring with 54 but he got out when the changing room looked to him as the set batsman to take the game deep.

In the end, none of the middle to lower order could handle the mounting pressure as the ball started turning squarer and the asking rate sky-rocketed to unattainable levels.

Bangladesh lead Zimbabwe 1-0 in the five match series and the visitors will have to wait until Sunday at the same venue to see if they can find a solution to their problems against spin, at least to the extent of pushing Bangladesh all the way.

Teams:
BANGLADESH: Tamim Iqbal, Anamul Haque, Mominul Haque, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Mahmudullah, Sabbir Rahman, Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), Arafat Sunny, Al-Amin Hossain, Robiul Islam

ZIMBABWE: Sikandar Raza, V Sibanda, BRM Taylor, H Masakadza, E Chigumbura (capt), SF Mire, RW Chakabva (wk), T Panyangara, J Nyumbu, TL Chatara, T Kamungozi