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Bangladesh won the one-off Test against Zimbabwe by 220 runs on Sunday (11th July) at the Harare Sports Club and also sealed the longer version series 1-0. Bangladesh dominated the match for the majority of the time. Shadman Islam took injured Tamim Iqbal's place in the playing XI and seized the opportunity by scoring a responsible century in the second innings. Mahmudullah Riyad, Taskin Ahmed, Najmul Hossain, Mehidy Hasan, and Shakib Al Hasan all played well for Bangladesh in the match. In this article, we discussed the five things we learned from the lone Test of BAN vs. ZIM Test Series 2021.
Five Things We Learned From the BAN vs. ZIM Test Series 2021
This was Bangladesh's first Test victory in more than one year. Apart from this, Bangladesh's last Test win came in February 2020 against Zimbabwe. All of the senior players took part in this match with the exception of Tamim Iqbal, who was ruled out due to a knee injury.
Bowlers are Key in Winning Test Matches
Cricket experts believe that bowlers must be able to take regular wickets in order to win consistently in Test cricket. In light of this, Bangladesh cruised to win against Zimbabwe despite Harare's batting-friendly pitch.
Bangladesh scored 468 runs in their first innings. Zimbabwe responded well at the start of their innings, but were bowled out for only 276 runs in their first innings. Shakib and Mehdi both bowled well in the first innings for Bangladesh.
Bangladesh batters looked solid in the second innings, setting Zimbabwe a target of 477 runs to win. But in the chase, Zimbabwe were bowled out for 256 runs. The Bangladeshi bowlers made a major contribution to this Test's victory.
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Spinners are Bangladesh's Main Strike Bowlers
Shakib Al Hasan and Mehdi Hasan Miraj were the most successful bowlers against Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe were knocked out for a low total in the first innings due to the excellent bowling of these two spinners. Taskin Ahmed bowled well in the second innings and took four wickets, but spinners played the most crucial roles in the contest. So, there is no doubt that spinners are Bangladesh's main strike bowlers.
Mahmudullah Riyad is Still Capable to Play Test Cricket
Veteran batsman Mahmudullah Riyad showed once again that he is still equally good at playing Test cricket with an unbeaten 150*-run knock in the first innings. However, Mahmudullah has already announced his retirement from Test. Experienced players like Mahmudullah Riyad should play more longer-version cricket if Bangladesh want to improve in the Test format.
Read Bangladesh beat Zimbabwe by 220 runs in one-off Test
Alternatives of Senior Cricketers are being developed
The lack of a proper pipeline is one of Bangladesh cricket's most serious problems. However, there is a reason for optimism after Taskin Ahmed, Sadman Islam, Nazmul Hossain, and Mehedi Hasan Miraj's performances in the Test match.
Bangladesh dominated in the match thanks to their outstanding performance. Taskin took 5 wickets in the match and scored 75 runs in the first innings, while Miraz got 9 wickets. Among the batsmen, Shadman and Najmul struck a century each in the second innings. We can expect that veteran cricketers in Bangladesh's squad will have strong options in the near future.
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The Quality of Zimbabwe's Cricket has deteriorated
At one point, famous cricketers like Andrew Flower and Grant Flower brought Zimbabwe cricket to the spotlight. However, there is currently no world-class player on the Zimbabwe squad, which is a major area of concern for the country's cricket development. Zimbabwean cricket will go down further if no action is taken soon.
Bottom Line
After analyzing the performances of the Bangladesh players in the only match of the BAN vs. ZIM Test Series 2021, it is evident that they had a productive match. Mahmudullah Riyad once again demonstrated that he is still capable of playing Test cricket with a magnificent performance with the bat while young players had demonstrated their cricketing talents. On the other side, Zimbabwe were unable to capitalize on their home-ground advantage and underperformed throughout the match. Overall, the Bangladeshi players and Captain Mominul Haque, who has yet to lose a Test match against Zimbabwe, have gained a lot of confidence from this match.