Bangladesh whitewash  Zimbabwe Hamilton Masakadza
Hamilton Masakadza

Hamilton Masakadza

Zimbabwe – 128 all out in 30 overs ( Hamilton Masakadza 52; Taijul Islam 4-11, Shakib Al Hasan 3-30, Jubair Hossain 2-41)
Bangladesh – 130 for 5 in 24.3 overs (Mohammad Mahmudullah 51*; Tendai Chatara 3-44, Tinashe Panyangara 2-49)
Bangladesh won by 5 wickets.

ZIMBABWE’S disastrous tour of Bangladesh continued unabated as the senior cricket team suffered a five-wicket defeat at the hands of hosts Bangladesh, in the fifth and final One-Day international (ODI) match at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka.

The defeat meant that the visitors finished the series winless, as the Tigers revel in a 5-0 series whitewash.

Left arm spinner Taijul Islam became the first bowler to claim a hattrick on his international debut, and his match figures of four wickets for 11 runs helped dismantle Zimbabwe for 128.

Zimbabwe had begun in a determined fashion– eager to avoid the series whitewash. They won the toss and this time elected to bat first.

Hamilton Masakadza, the lynchpin of Zimbabwe’s batting order, continued to pull his weight in this tour with yet another milestone, notching up his 25th ODI half-century.

Masakadza (52) combined with Vusimuzi Sibanda (37) for a 79-run partnership for the second wicket. It was a stand that promised a lot while it lasted.

Spin was introduced, and as has been the recurring theme of this tour, the visitors failed to negotiate it. Masakadza was bowled through the gate by Jubair Hossain and, from this point onwards, the floodgates opened as no batsman could reach double figures.

A total of eight wickets fell for just 33 runs as Taijul Islam, Shakib Al Hasan (3-30) and Jubair Hossain (2-41) spun their web around a defenceless Zimbabwe batting order.

The visitors’ bowlers displayed doggedness that verged on the obsessive as they tried to defend a low score, but the writing was always on the wall.

Seamers Tendai Chatara (3-44) and Tinashe Panyangara (2-49) bowled with a lot of fire as they struck with regularity to slow down Bangladesh’s progress, but in the end not enough runs were on the board.

Mohammad Mahmudullah (51*) steered his team home in a tricky run-chase much to the jubilation of the home fans.

Focus now turns to preparations for the International Cricket Council Cricket World Cup. A lot of this will involve working out which combinations to take to the pinnacle event of the world game. – Zimbabwe Cricket.

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