All-round Zimbabwe hit back to level series Wessley Madhevere struck his third T20I half-century. (Picture: espncricinfo

Zimbabwe166/6 in 20 overs (Wessley Madhevere 73, Ryan Burl 34*, Shoriful Islam 3-33) beat Bangladesh 143 all out in 19.5 overs (Shamim Hossain 29; Wellington Masakadza 3-20, Blessing Muzarabani 2-21) by 23 runs.

WELLINGTON Masakadza (3 for 20) and Blessing Muzarabani (2 for 21) shared five top-order wickets between them in Zimbabwe’s defence of 166 to help the hosts level the three-match T20I series against Bangladesh with a comfortable 23-run victory in Harare yesterday.

After Wessley Madhevere starred in Zimbabwe’s improved batting display, making 73 off just 57, Ryan Burl propelled the hosts to a winning total with his quick cameo of 34 not out down the order.

Muzarabani took out both half-centurions from the previous game, Mohammad Naim and Soumya Sarkar, to dent Bangladesh’s chase early, while Masakadza landed the three crucial blows just after the powerplay to ensure there wasn’t a late comeback and set up a win that would keep the series alive.

Madhevere lifts Zimbabwe
Bangladesh managed to restrict the damage from Regis Chakabva’s bat to just a six and a four this time, but what his wicket did do was see a decline in Zimbabwe’s scoring rate.

But Madhevere ensured against a batting collapse like yesterday to build on the cautious start. He forged a 57-run stand with Dion Myers to lay a strong base, en route his third T20I half-century that came off just 45 balls.

He lost both Myers (26 off 21) and skipper Sikandar Raza one over apart, but between the two dismissals, Madhevere switched gears by hitting both Taskin Ahmed and Shakib al Hasan for a six each off successive balls he faced. By the time Shoriful managed to put an end to his fireworks with a slower ball, in the 18th over, Madhevere had top-scored for his side with a 73 off just 57 deliveries to set them up for a competitive total.

Burl provides finishing touches
Burl took off right after Madhevere departed. Saifuddin offered him width outside off, and Burl slapped it through the covers for four, before depositing one in the deep midwicket stands to take 16 off the 18th over. Shoriful had managed to keep the first half of the final over clean but then dished a full ball in the slot and Burl sent it into the stands again to help Zimbabwe finish with 166/6. Of these, 65 had come in the final six overs alone, with Burl contributing a vital hand of 34 not out in just 19 deliveries.

Muzarabani takes out previous game’s heroes
Bangladesh openers had done maximum damage on Thursday with their fifties in the chase, but Muzarabani took care of that yesterday by striking twice in his very first over to send both of them packing cheaply.

He struck with his first ball of the game when Mohammad Naim chopped on in an attempt to dab the ball a way to third man, and then again two balls later to see the back off Soumya Sarkar who tried to go inside-out over covers but found Raza sticking his hand out to pouch a touch chance.

Masakadza triple dents Bangladesh’s chase
At 17 for 2 halfway through their powerplay, Bangladesh were in desperate need to up the ante, and they found Mahedi Hasan stepping up with a hattrick of boundaries in the fourth over, by Tendai Chatara.

However, it proved to be just temporary relief as Zimbabwe introduced Masakadza into the attack after the powerplay and the left-arm spinner took three crucial middle-order wickets in the first half of his spell to leave Bangladesh to a point of no return.

First to go was Shakib who chipped it straight to extra cover when Masakadza dropped it short on seeing the batsman marching out of his crease. In his next over, both Mahmadullah and Mahedi holed out to the men at long-on and long-off respectively, trying to go for big hits to arrest the spiking rate.

Consequently, Bangladesh were down to 54/5 after nine. Masakadza bowled all four on the trot and conceded only one six and a wide in his game changing spell of 3 for 20.

Shamim entertains on debut, but to no avail
On debut, Shamim briefly gave Bangladesh some hope of pulling a rabbit out of a hat when he went after both off-spinners Raza and Madhevere for two sixes and two boundaries to take the team past the 100-run mark by the 15th over. His fiery cameo of 29, however, came to an end soon after as he mistimed a slog straight into the hands of Masakadza to long-on, trying to keep up with the asking rate.

Chatara made amends to finish with figures of 2 for 24, Muzarabani completed his remaining two cheaply, including the 19th for just 4 runs, and Luke Jongwe added the last two to his account as Bangladesh folded for 143 with a ball to go. — Cricbuzz

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