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Saifuddin three-for helps Bangladesh stave off Zimbabwe’s challenge
Bangladesh saw off some late batting fightback from Zimbabwe tailenders Faraz Akram and Blessing Muzarbani to clinch the T20I series in the third game in Chattogram. They won by nine runs on Tuesday, with two matches left to play in Dhaka.
Akram, playing only his fifth T20I, struck an unbeaten 34 off 19 balls after the visitors had crashed to 91 for 8 chasing 166. The 54 runs he added with Wellington Masakadza was a new Zimbabwe record for the ninth wicket. Akram’s 34 was also Zimbabwe’s highest by a No. 10 batter.
Muzarabani, who took career-best figures of 3 for 14 earlier, struck two fours when Zimbabwe needed 21 in the final over. But Saifuddin snuffed out the trouble with some accurate death-overs bowling.
Zimbabwe produced lower-order runs for the third game in a row, especially when the rest sunk quickly. Bangladesh once again had Towhid Hridoy play a crucial hand in a win. Hridoy’s maiden T20I fifty came during an 87-run fourth wicket stand with Jaker Ali who made 44. This pair had to lift Bangladesh after they lost three wickets in the first nine overs.
Bangladesh suffer for Litton’s scoops
Litton Das chose the strangest sequence of shots to get out in the fourth over. He missed two lap scoops against Muzarabani before his third successive attempt dragged the ball onto his stumps. It is unclear whether Litton, already showing poor form in white-ball cricket this year, will be in Bangladesh’s T20 World Cup squad. This innings is unlikely to help his case.
Captain Najmul Hossain Shanto also got out cheaply, bowled by a bit of variation from his opposite number Sikandar Raza. Shanto’s lack of footwork would be concerning for the team. Those would be long-term concerns, but when Tanzid Hasan fell in the ninth over, trying to slog Faraz Akram, it caused immediate worry. Bangladesh were hovering around a mediocre run rate, having lost their set batter.
Hridoy, Jaker to the rescue
The fourth-wicket pair struck a boundary in their first 3.3 overs before Jaker and Hridoy took on Raza for two sixes in the space of three balls. The first was a straight hit before Hridoy hit a bigger one into the mid-wicket stands.
In the 15th over though, Zimbabwe handed Jaker a life when his slog-sweep off Luke Jongwe fell between Johnathan Campbell and Brian Bennett, both looking at each other. Hridoy deposited Masakadza for his second six in the 16th over before reaching his maiden T20I fifty in the 18th over. Jaker slammed Jongwe for a big six shortly afterwards.
Hridoy’s scoop also connected in the penultimate over as Bangladesh approached 150. Litton attempted the same shot three times in a row, the third of which was his dismissal. It showed the gulf in confidence between Litton and Hridoy.
Muzarabani’s best keeps Zimbabwe in hunt
Muzarabani, however, caused a bit of an anti-climax when his yorker slammed into Hridoy’s leg-stump next ball. It was an excellent delivery that forced itself through Hridoy’s bat and pad as he looked to swing the ball towards the leg side.
Jaker fell one ball after Hridoy got out, as another Muzarabani full delivery slammed into his stumps. Muzarabani’s three-for kept Zimbabwe within a decent score. It was also reward for a fast bowler who is accurate even when trying variations.
For the third game in a row, Zimbabwe lost their first four wickets for less than 50 runs. Joylord Gumbie mistimed one to third man in the third over before Tanzim Hasan Sakib had Bennett caught and bowled in the fifth over. Zimbabwe’s powerplay ended with Craig Ervine falling to Saifuddin for seven.
Raza, who made five successive fifties since November 2023, also struggled to find form. He was caught behind by Rishad Hossain for 1 for his fifth consecutive low score.
Akram’s surprise from No. 10
Tadiwanashe Marumani fell for a 26-ball 31 before Clive Madande added 11. Campbell, who struck the ball cleanly in his debut in the last match, struck Tanvir Islam for two consecutive sixes before his attempt for the third in a row found Litton at the deep square-leg boundary.
When Jongwe fell to Rishad in the 15th over, defeat for the visitors seemed imminent, but Akram struck Rishad for two sixes over midwicket later in the over, before he found two more fours off Saifuddin in the 17th over. Taskin then dropped a difficult chance from Masakadza in the 18th over, but he returned strongly to concede just six runs in the penultimate over.
The 20th began with Saifuddin removing Masakadza first ball, but Muzarabani then slammed two consecutive fours. That brought the target down to 13 in three balls, but there was no more heroism left in the Zimbabwe tail. They fell nine short despite an admirable effort.
Brief score:
Bangladesh 165/5 in 20 overs (Tanzid Hasan 21, Towhid Hridoy 57, Jaker Ali 44; Faraz Akram 1-44, Blessing Muzarabani 3-14, Sikandar Raza 1-38) beat Zimbabwe 156/9 in 20 overs ( Tadiwanashe Marumani 31, Jonathan Campbell 21, Faraz Akram 34*; Tanvir Islam 1-26, Taskin Ahmed 1-21, Mohammad Saifuddin 3-42, Tanzim Hasan Sakib 1-26, Rishad Hossain 2-38, Mohamad Mahmudulla 1-01) by 9 runs
The first truly heavyweight clash of this expanded T20 World Cup format comes freighted with both history and subplots. A rematch of the 2010 World T20 final at Kensington Oval, the match pits Jos Buttler’s defending champions – who are aiming to become the first team to retain the trophy – against the Australian winning machine, victors at the 2021 edition and current world title-holders in Test and ODI cricket. And that’s before you throw in the Ashes for afters.
Already there is added pressure on England, after the rain in Bridgetown led to a share of the points in their opener against Scotland (and that having conceded 90 runs from 10 overs without taking a wicket in a tepid bowling display). Lose to their oldest rivals and it will leave their Super 8 prospects open to being waylaid by the perils of net run-rate calculations, or worse.
The Scotland match was the third abandonment in five suffered by England, after a rain-affected home series against Pakistan, which has clearly hampered their readiness for this campaign after almost six months without playing T20 together. It does not take much for a side to click in this format – and England looked in decent shape when they did get on the field against Pakistan – but Buttler will be anxious for things to go their way on Saturday, if only to avoid further questions referencing the team’s disastrous ODI World Cup defence last year.
Australia, under the laidback leadership of Mitchell Marsh would love nothing more than to add to the English sense of jeopardy – having helped bundle them out of the tournament in India on the way to taking the crown. Their head to head record is less impressive in T20 however, with England having won six of the last seven completed encounters, as well as that 2010 final.
Despite a wobble with the bat, Australia avoided mishap against Oman earlier in the week, the experience of David Warner and Marcus Stoinis shining through in difficult batting conditions. Surfaces in the Caribbean – not to mention those games staged in the USA – have already had teams scratching their heads; rather than the “slug-fest” England had prepared for, following a high-scoring tour of the Caribbean in December, it looks as if boxing smart may be the way to go.
Speaking of Warner, this could be the last time he faces up against England in national colours – and another match-winning contribution would likely reduce the chances of them meeting again in the knockouts. On the other side of the card is Jofra Archer, fresh from an emotional maiden outing at Kensington Oval and ready to take on Australia for the first time in any format since 2020. Can Mark Wood fire up England’s campaign, as he did during last summer’s Ashes? Will Pat Cummins be back to harass the old enemy once again? Seconds out, it’s almost time to rumble.
Cummins is set to return after being rested for the Oman game, which saw Mitchell Starc leave the field with cramp. Starc is understood to be fine and could keep his place – which would likely see Nathan Ellis miss out. Marsh is still not fit to bowl, with Australia likely to continue with the allrounder combination of Stoinis and Maxwell to give them cover.
Australia (probable XI): David Warner, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh (capt), Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Josh Inglis (wk), Tim David, Pat Cummins, Nathan Ellis/Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
The one change England may consider is Reece Topley coming in for Wood, with the expectation that there will be some rotation among the seamers through the course of the tournament.
England (probable XI): Phil Salt, Jos Buttler (capt & wk), Will Jacks, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Chris Jordan, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Reece Topley/Mark Wood
[Cricinfo]
Once is coincidence, twice is a clue, and three times is proof.
To paraphrase Agatha Christie, that is the narrative around South Africa’s meeting with Netherlands at this T20 World Cup.
The Dutch beat South Africa at the 2022 tournament and ended their semi-final hopes in a match where South Africa appeared to be sleep walking, and then beat them again at the 2023 ODI World Cup, where they exposed South Africa’s vulnerability in the chase. If they to do the treble, not only will Netherlands take the lead in Group D, but they will offer conclusive evidence of the threat they pose to Full Members, especially South Africa.
Of course, it will take some doing after South Africa’s opening performance against Sri Lanka, where they reduced their opposition to their lowest T20I total and chased it down in fairly straightforward fashion thanks to the most stable middle-order of their white-ball era. In Aiden Markram, Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller, South Africa have bankers and big-hitters and, for this match, they also have the advantage of experience. They’ve already played at Eisenhower Park, and have first-hand knowledge that run-scoring doesn’t come easily;Klassen said they are prepared to use their “cricket brains” and play “smarter cricket”.
But the conditions could be good news for Netherlands, who are not naturally a line-up of big hitters and build their innings on a foundation of turning ones into twos. In other words, they tend to take a slightly more conservative approach to batting, which may work well here, but they’ll be wary of the uneven bounce of the surface and will have to come up with plans to counterattack especially against South Africa’s seamers. Their own bowlers were exemplary in Dallas and will look to build on that performance against a line-up that will likely be more proactive than Nepal’s, but who they have managed to keep quiet not once, but twice in the past. Third time’s the charm, they say.
Anrich Nortje’s stunning return to form against Sri Lanka means South Africa may not have to tinker with the bowling combination, and Gerald Coetzee and Tabraiz Shamsi may have to wait their turns to get a game. The batting line-up should be unchanged, with no space for Ryan Rickelton yet.
South Africa: Quinton de Kock (wk), Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markam, Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), David Miller, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Ottneil Baartman, Anrich Nortje
Conditions in New York may tempt Netherlands to include an extra seamer and they have Kyle Klein in their squad. But it could come at the expense of a shortened batting line-up and they may not want to risk that.
Netherlands: Michael Levitt, Max O’Dowd, Vikramjit Singh, Sybrand Engelbrecht, Scott Edwards (capt, wk), Bas de Leede, Teja Nidamanuru, Logan van Beek, Tim Pringle, Paul van Meekeren, Vivian Kingma
[Cricinfo]
Nuwan Thushara’s last over brought Sri Lanka screaming back into the match,as he first bowled Rishad Hossain, and then nailed Taskin Ahmed in front of the stumps with a pinpoint swinging yorker. This left Bangladesh eight wickets down, with 12 runs still to get.
However, the experienced Mahmudullah was at the crease for Bangladesh, and despite some further nervy moments, pushed Bangladesh across the line off the last ball of the 19th over.
But this was a match chiefly decided by Bangladesh’s own outstanding bowling. Mustafizur Rahman was the best among them, using shorter lengths and his cutters efficiently, to claim figures of 3 for 17. Rishad Hossain’s three-for through the middle overs also kept Sri Lanka quiet.
Mustafizur was instrumental in Sri Lanka’s downward spiral through the middle overs, which culminated in a crash-and-burn end. Ultimately, their inability to find boundaries, or even rotate strike against good Bangladesh bowling resulted in their downfall. A score of 125 for 9 always seemed poor on a decent pitch, even if their bowlers made a match of it in the end.
Brief scores:
Bangladesh 125 for 8 in 19 overs (Towhid Hridoy 40, Litton Das 36; Dhanajaya de Silva 1-11, Nuwan Thushara 4-18, Wanidu Hasaranga 2-32, Matheesha Pathirana 1-27) beat Sri Lanka124 for 9 in 20 overs (Pathum Nissanka 47, Dhananjaya de Silva 21; Tanzim Hasan Sakib 1-24, Taskin Ahmed 2-25, Mustafizur Rahman 3-17, Rishad Hossain 3-22) by two wickets
[Cricinfo]
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