Zimbabwe won the toss again, and for the third and final time in the ongoing series, they sent Bangladesh to bat first. Bangladesh have lost the first two matches of the series. Now the Tigers can only have a consolation win on Wednesday. In the first match, Bangladesh scored 303 and failed to defend it. In the second, they posted 290 and failed to defend it too. In both the matches, Sikandar Raza of Zimbabwe hit a ton and guided his team to two outstanding victories. Bangladesh are struggling to field their best XI as Liton Das is suffering from injuries. Mustafizur Rahman also missed a match before staging a comeback for Wednesday's game. The third match of the ODI series is the 400th ODI of Bangladesh. Coming into this landmark match, Bangladesh are eying a win -- the only happiness they can bring back from Zimbabwe. Bangladesh made two changes to the playing XI, overlooking Shoriful Islam and Taskin Ahmed to pave the way for Ebadot Hossain and Mustafiz. Bangladesh vs Zimbabwe 2021: ODI Series PreviewRead: Sikandar, the king of Zimbabwe in this series, will lead them in the last match. Bangladesh (Playing XI): Tamim Iqbal (c), Anamul Haque, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mushfiqur Rahim(w), Mahmudullah, Afif Hossain, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Ebadot Hossain, Hasan Mahmud, Mustafizur Rahman   Zimbabwe (Playing XI): Tadiwanashe Marumani, Takudzwanashe Kaitano, Innocent Kaia, Wesley Madhevere, Sikandar Raza (c), Clive Madande (w), Tony Munyonga, Luke Jongwe, Brad Evans, Victor Nyauchi, Richard Ngarava

Zimbabwe beat Bangladesh by five wickets in the first of the three-match ODI series on Friday in Harare.  It was Zimbabwe’s first ODI win against Bangladesh in nine years— the last was in 2013 in Bulawayo.  The hosts chased down a target of 304 with 10 balls in hand. Sikandar Raza hit his fourth ODI hundred and remained unbeaten for 135 of 109 balls with eight fours and six sixes.  Align with Raza, Innocent Kaia also hit a ton for Zimbabwe, which was his maiden ton in the format.  In reply to Bangladesh’s total of 303 runs, Zimbabwe lost two early wickets. But they never looked out of the race. In the third wicket stand, Wesley Madhevere and Innocent added 60 runs.  After recovering from the early damage, Zimbabwe made a solid foundation. In the fourth wicket stand, Raza and Innocent added 192 runs on the board. It was the third highest partnership for Zimbabwe in ODIs, and it was the highest ODI partnership of Zimbabwe against Bangladesh.  For Bangladesh, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam, Mosaddek Hossain and Mehidy Hasan bagged a wicket each.  Earlier, Opener Liton Das hit 81 and Anamul Haque scored 73 in his ODI comeback to guide Bangladesh to 303 for two after losing the toss and being inserted to bat first.  Read: Bangladesh bat first in 1st ODI vs Zimbabwe Bangladesh lost the three-match T20I series ahead of the ODIs. Right after switching the format, Bangladesh started to display their ODI prowess. Tamim Iqbal and Liton added 119 runs in the opening stand before Sikandar Raza got Tamim for 62 off 88 balls. Anamul, struggling to bring his domestic form into international cricket, finally hit a fifty. He made 73 off 63 balls with six hours and three sixes. After Liton retired hurt, Mushfiqur Rahim, who skipped the previous series against the West Indies due to personal reasons, came to the wicket and scored 52 off 49 balls. Mahmudullah Riyad remained unbeaten for 20 off 12 balls. Bangladesh fielded a three-bowler pace attack that included Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam and Mustafizur Rahman.  The Tigers had won 19 ODIs  on the trot against Zimbabwe prior to today's contest. But these stats did not help them to make a good start to the three-match ODI series against Zimbabwe. The hosts have finally broken the drought of not winning an ODI against Bangladesh for a long time.  “I didn't think we had enough on the board,” Tamim, the Bangladesh captain said after the match. “We could have pushed a little more, we were 15-20 runs short. We knew we had to bat like a Test match in the first 10-15 overs.” Bangladesh’s opener Liton had to retire hurt with a hamstring problem. Had he not left the crease at 81, Bangladesh would have got a few more runs on the board.  Read: BAN vs ZIM ODI Series 2022: What to expect from Bangladesh and squad preview The batter might not be able to take part in the remaining matches of this series as the captain has indicated after the match. The last two matches will be played on August 7 and 10 at the same venue.  Regis Chakabva, the Zimbabwe captain, praised Raza and Innocent for their outstanding effort with the bat. “The way they kicked on after losing early wickets, couldn't ask for anything better. We were happy with the first 20 overs despite not getting any wickets, we felt they were 20-30 short,” he said.

Bangladesh confined Zimbabwe to 135-8 in 20 overs at the Harare Sports Club Sunday as off-spinner Mosaddek Hossain took his first five-wicket haul in the T20Is. Zimbabwe won the toss in the second T20I and chose to bat first. Off the very first ball, Mosaddek trapped Regis Chakabva for a duck. Captain Nurul Hasan Sohan took an easy catch behind the wicket. After Chakabva, Mosaddek also removed Craig Ervine, Wesley Madhevere, Sean Williams and Milton Shumba. All of them failed to reach double digits.  Mosaddek took five wickets for 20 runs – his best bowling figures in the format. And along the way, he became only the fourth Bangladeshi bowler to take five or more wickets in T20Is.  Read: Bangladesh vs Zimbabwe: T20 series begins Saturday However, Sikandar Raza stood firm like a rock. Before falling to Mustafizur Rahman, Raza scored 62 runs off 53 balls. And Ryan Burl was the second-highest run scorer for the hosts (32).   Bangladesh needs to win this match to bounce back in the series. The hosts won the first match by 17 runs and lead the series 1-0. The third and final match of the series will be played on August 2 at the same venue.

Bangladesh sealed a comfortable win against Zimbabwe in the first T20 international of the three-match series in capital Harare on Thursday. Batting first, Zimbabwe posted a challenging total of 152 all out in 19 overs. In response, Soumya Sarkar and Mohammad Naim hit a fifty each to guide the Tigers to an eight-wicket victory over the hosts.  Soumya and Naim added 102 runs, which is now the highest first-wicket stand in T20Is for the Tigers. Along the way, the openers surpassed Tamim Iqbal and Liton Das' record of 92 runs -- which the duo scored against the same adversary in March 2020.  Also read: Tamim, Shohan guide Tigers to ODI series sweep against Zimbabwe Soumya scored 50 off 45 balls with four fours and two sixes, while Naim remained unbeaten on 63 off 51 balls with six fours. Mahmudullah Riyad, the T20I captain, batted at number three and scored 15 off 12 balls with one four. Nurul Hasan Sohan came to bat next and remained unbeaten on 16 off eight balls with a four and a six.  Bangladesh scored 153 with seven balls to spare and won the game to take a 1-0 lead in the series.  For Zimbabwe, Regis Chakabva continued to perform well. He scored 43 off 22 balls -- the highest for the hosts. In the ODI series as well, he had scored two fifties.  Dion Myers also had a good start but he fell prey to Shoriful Islam.  For Bangladesh, Mustafizur Rahman bagged three wickets with two in the 19th over, while Mohammad Saifuddin and Shoriul scalped two wickets each.  Also read: Chakabva, Raza, Burl propel Zimbabwe to 298 in 3rd ODI The second and third T20I of this series will take place on July 23 and 25, respectively, at the same venue. 

They say it all begins at the top. And for Bangladesh too, openers Tamim Iqbal and Liton Das did it all. Yes, with Tamim smashing his fastest ODI ton and later Nurul Hasan Shohan celebrating his comeback, the Tigers Tuesday registered a clean sweep against host Zimbabwe in the three-match series at Harare Sports Club. In the last game of the ODI series on Tuesday, the Tigers beat Zimbabwe by five wickets chasing a target of 299 runs. In fact, Bangladesh won the toss and opted to bowl first. Batting first, the hosts scored 298/10 -- their highest in this series. Also read: Tamim to miss home series against Australia, New Zealand In reply, Tamim and Liton added 88 runs in the opening stand and set a solid foundation in pursue of a big total. Liton fell for 32 but Tamim was firm at the other end of the wicket. Shakib Al Hasan joined Tamim, and together they added 59 runs on the score board. Shakib had missed a ton for four runs in the previous match, and this time, he ended up on 30 off 42.  Tamim fell for 112 when Bangladesh were batting at 204. Before falling prey to Donald Tiripano, Tamim completed his ton off 87 balls -- his fastest in the format. Right after Tamim’s dismissal, Mahmudullah Riyad suffered a golden duck, and all of a sudden, Bangladesh were facing trouble.  However, Mohammad Mithun and Shohan put on a fifth-wicket stand of 64 runs, which helped the Tigers keep the scoreboard afloat.  Also read: Chakabva, Raza, Burl propel Zimbabwe to 298 in 3rd ODI It was Shohan’s first ODI in five years. He grabbed the opportunity in two hands as he struck 45 off 39 balls and remained unbeaten. He and Afif Hossain added 34 runs for the sixth wicket to seal the game.  Bangladesh scored 302 for five and won the game by five wickets.  Wessley Madhevere and Donald Tiripano took two wickets each for Zimbabwe.  Earlier, Regis Chakabva, who opened the innings for the hosts, scored 84 off 91 balls with seven fours and one six. It was his second fifty in the series.  For the sixth wicket, Sikandar Raza and Ryan Burl added 112 runs, the highest runs in a single partnership in Zimbabwe’s innings. The stand was broken by Mustafizur, who was playing his first ODI in this series, removing Raza for 57 off 54 balls.  But Burl was there in the middle. Before falling prey to Saifuddin, Burl posted 59 off 43 with four fours and as many as sixes.  Saifuddin bagged three wickets in the 48th over removing Burl, Donald Tiripano and Tendai Chatara. Saifuddin conceded 87 runs in eight overs to take three wickets. Mustafizur also bagged three wickets conceding 57 runs. They eventually put together 298 in 49.3 overs.  The series is a part of the World Cup Super League. The top seven teams of this event along with the shots, India, will qualify directly for World Cup 2023.  After the three-match ODI series, both teams will lock horns in a three-match T20 series. All the matches will take place at the same venue. Before the limited-over series, Bangladesh took on the hosts in a one-off Test and won that match by 220 runs.