The closely contested three-match ODI series ended at Bulawayo with Zimbabwe deservedly winning the series 2-1. After losing the first match by a massive margin, the hosts fought back exceedingly well to win the next two matches rather easily.
The closely contested three-match ODI series ended at Bulawayo with Zimbabwe deservedly winning the series 2-1. After losing the first match by a massive margin, the hosts fought back exceedingly well to win the next two matches rather easily. Bangladesh, on the other hand, would feel disappointed as they lost a great chance of winning a rare series abroad. Skipper Mushfiqur Rahim knew this very well, which is possibly what forced him to announce his decision to step down. As Zimbabwe celebrate their hard-fought triumph, we look back at the top performers of the series
Vusi Sibanda: The Zimbabwe opener played the most significant role in the hosts’ win. He scored a brilliant, unbeaten 103 in the must-win 3rd ODI. Chasing a challenging 248, Sibanda came up with a fluent knock, hitting nine fours and two sixes in his 135-ball innings, as Zimbabwe won the match comfortably by seven wickets, and, with it the series. In the second ODI as well, Sibanda made a quickfire 49 from 51 balls to play his part in the side’s impressive six-wicket victory. For his consistent efforts, Sibanda was also named the man of the series.
Sean Williams: The middle-order batsman did not do much in the first one-dayer, but was instrumental in Zimbabwe chasing down challenging targets in the next two matches. In the second game, Williams made an unbeaten 78 off 75 balls with the aid of six fours and one six, and in the company of Malcolm Waller (39 not out), took his team home. In the final ODI as well, Williams came up with a fluent half-century. He remained unbeaten yet again, this time on 55 off 65 balls, and featured in an impressive century stand with centurion Sibanda, as Zimbabwe romped home to a big series win.
Nasir Hossain: He wasmost consistent of all batsmen as far as Bangladesh were concerned. Hossain blasted 68 off 67 balls in the first match with the help of seven fours and one six as the visitors put up an impressive 269 on board, and ended up winning by a massive margin of 121 runs. In the final ODI, he made 63 off 74 balls with four boundaries, but could not prevent Bangladesh from succumbing to a series defeat. In spite of being consistent, Hossain would have been disappointed that he couldn’tmake bigger scores. Even in the second match he fell after reaching 36.
Other notable performances
Shingi Masakadza picked up 4 for 51 for Zimbabwe in the opening game, but Ziaur Rahman outdid him, returning with brilliant figures of 5 for 3 as Bangladesh registered a massive win. In the second game, Abdur Razzak blasted 53 off only 22 balls in a losing cause while Elton Chigumbura picked up 3 for 39 to restrict Bangladesh. In the final ODI, Mahmudullah smashed a wonderful 75 not out from 73 balls courtesy five fours and two sixes. It wasn’t enough to stop Zimbabwe from securing a serious win though.
--By A Cricket Analyst
