United News of Bangladesh

Bangladesh captain Towhid Hridoy has said winning the T20I series in Zimbabwe meant more because the team finished the tour with a depleted squad after injuries sidelined three frontline fast bowlers. Bangladesh clinched the three-match series 2-1 with a four-wicket win in the decider on Sunday, ending the tour on a positive note after losing the one-off Test and the ODI series. Leading the side for the first time in place of injured Litton Das, Hridoy said Bangladesh had little room to maneuver by the final match."We had only 13 players available by the end," he said after the victory. "Nahid Rana got injured during the second game, Shoriful Islam was not available, and we were already without Mustafizur Rahman. We had to fight with the players we had." Mustafizur missed the entire series because of hamstring and knee injuries, while Shoriful was unavailable with a hamstring problem. Nahid, who took four wickets in the opening T20I, suffered a side strain in the second match and missed the decider. Left-arm spinner Abdul Gaffar Saqlain came into the side for the final and took one wicket as Bangladesh chased 143 with two balls to spare. The result contrasted with Bangladesh's struggles earlier in the tour, when they lost the Test and ODI series after failing to build on promising positions. "It was challenging because we could not meet our expectations in the Test and ODI series," Hridoy said. "We made some mistakes there. In the T20s, we adjusted better, even with the injuries." He said the team have made progress in the shortest format but still have work to do. "We are not looking too far ahead," Hridoy said when asked about preparations for the next T20 World Cup. "Our focus is on one match and one series at a time." The T20I series was Bangladesh's first success of the tour and their first series victory in Zimbabwe since 2022.