8.30pm That's that for this Sunday then. Catch you all on Tuesday for the second ODI, where Zimbabwe will look to keep the series alive with their first win after 17 successive losses in this format away to Bangladesh! Follow the game (both this one, and others happening around the globe these days) with ESPNcricinfo...for the moment, this is Debayan Sen saying goodbye on behalf of Ranjith P and Liam Brickhill.
It's Liton Das who wins the Player of the Match. Speaks to the broadcasters: "Feeling better now. It was a good batting track, and I enjoyed my batting. Shanto, Mushybhai and Tamimbhai all batted well to give partnership at the top of the order. We have some wicketkeeper batsmen in our team, so I can focus on my fielding and batting alone."
Mainul Pavel: "Liton das played a good innings today but my MOM is Saifuddin."
Mashrafe Mortaza: "Personally, it's been not going well last 3-4 matches for us in this format. We hadn't been up to the mark in those games, but today we were up for it. Liton batted so well, and it mattered that others batted around him. Mahmudullah batted well, and Mithun also, not easy to bat at 6 for him. If you look at our side, Saifuddin has just come back from injuries, and I last played an ODI eight months back. Doesn't matter if you post a target of 322, you have to put the ball in the right places, and that's something we did. We were good in all three departments. You can control your fielding, and this is something that we are working hard on in practice."
8.23pmTime for the presentation. Chamu Chibhabha: "I thought the Bangladeshis batted really well. They had a guy bat through for them, and they had partnerships through the game. That was the key for them. It was good to watch him (Madhevere) play positively. This is a nice venue for us, the last time we played we won a Test. Hopefully we can turn things around and win the next game. I am sure Sean Williams will play the next game, but we don't know yet about Craig Ervine. Hopefully, he will be fit."
8.20pm Sean Williams pops up on the broadcast, talks about the excitement of becoming a father, and praises Madhevere for the tidy cricket he has played today.
8.13pm This is also the record win for Bangladesh in ODIs, with the 169 run margin going past 163 that they managed against Sri Lanka in an ODI in Dhaka in January 2018. Zimbabwe just didn't turn up today, I am afraid. That takes nothing away from the professionalism shown by Bangladesh. They came in as favourites into this game, and have performed exactly that way.
They did the first thing right by winning the toss and batting. Tamim Iqbal and Liton Das gave them momentum early in the innings, and Das went on to anchor the innings, with all top 7 players in the Bangladesh order making 19 or more. There was a half-century from Mohammad Mithun too, but the real momentum came from Mohammad Saifuddin, who helped take 22 off the final over in the Bangladesh innings. Saif also helped get the Zimbabwe chase off track with a precise new ball spell, one where he bowled Kahmunhukamwe and then trapped Chakabva in front of the stumps. It was all downhill from there for the visitors, for whom the only bright spark today I suppose would be debutant Wesley Madhevere, who picked up a wicket and also scored a smart 35.
CT Mutombodzi c Mohammad Saifuddin b Mashrafe Mortaza 24 (47b 3x4 0x6) SR: 51.06
Mashrafe Mortaza comes back on himself
END OF OVER:39 | 9 Runs | ZIM: 152/9 (170 runs required from 11 overs, RR: 3.89, RRR: 15.45)
- Tinotenda Mutombodzi24 (46b)
- Chris Mpofu9 (8b)
- Taijul Islam9-2-27-1
- Mohammad Saifuddin7-0-22-3
Rahim tells Taijul there's no merit in looking to 'buy' a wicket here
Taijul replaces Mehidy
Musavvir: "@Samba: I guess, BD fans are not complaining about playing against Zim. What people are complaining about is getting super satisfaction of winning and thinking themselves invincible. That's the problem with playing against Zim."
END OF OVER:38 | 9 Runs | ZIM: 143/9 (179 runs required from 12 overs, RR: 3.76, RRR: 14.91)
- Tinotenda Mutombodzi18 (43b)
- Chris Mpofu7 (5b)
- Mohammad Saifuddin7-0-22-3
- Mehidy Hasan Miraz8-1-33-2
Pias: "We talk about MASH but how long is Mpofu been around? Bowled well today" --- Yes, but as a senior bowler, am sure they will look for more penetration from him in the next few games
Simba: "Bangledeshi supporters who are complaining about playing Zimbabwe because Zimbabwe is currently weak should not forget that the strong Zimbabwe squads of Andy Flower, Heath Streak used to play Bangladesh when no one else wanted to play Bangladesh. This was when Bangladesh was also weak back then. So if there is a gap in the Bangladeshi calendar its good to help Zimbabwe with some experience matches. I do believe Zimbabwe should do better to be more competitive though.They can do better than this"
