Tigers seek to turn tides in favourite format

Bangladesh will look to change their fortune in their favourite format, the One-Day Internationals, after a 2-1 series defeat in the Twenty20 International series against Zimbabwe.

The ODI series starts today at Harare, with the match starting at 1:15 PM BST.

Bangladesh have not lost once in their last 19 ODIs against the hosts, and their last defeat dates back to 2013. The Tigers will look to solidify that record and manage another clean sweep after their disappointing run in the shortest format.

Bangladesh lost the first and third match of the T20I series, and their biggest concern was their batting as they failed to chase down 157 in the final match, despite the pitch offering little support for the bowlers.

They will look to reciprocate what they did in West Indies, where they lost the Test and T20I series but managed to clean sweep the hosts in the ODIs.

In their pursuit to do so, Bangladesh will have the likes of Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahim back in the 50-over format. While Shakib Al Hasan’s absence is a major thorn in their batting lineup, the Tigers should feel confident about getting the job done without their premier allrounder.

Bangladesh, under the leadership of Tamim, has lost just one out of seven series, and the Tigers’ skipper will not want to end his five-series winning streak in Harare.

In their ODI series last year, Shakib starred throughout as Bangladesh clean swept the Zimbabweans. But Shakib’s absence should not impact the Tigers too much unless they fall prey to taking their opposition lightly.

In Shakib’s absence, Liton Das might take centre stage once again for Bangladesh as he has been their sparkling star for the last year or so. Liton’s career-best of 176 came against Zimbabwe, and he had also hit a hundred in the last tour, meaning that the platform for the batsman to shine is right there.

Zimbabwe will be coming into the series with high morale due to their T20I series win, despite their poor run in the format in recent times as they have lost their last four matches.

Sikandar Raza will be a big threat to Bangladesh with his big-hitting ability and nifty off-spin. He also played in the most recent Dhaka Premier League season and has knowhow of the Bangladeshi players, meaning he might turn out to be Bangladesh’s bogeyman.

Bangladesh will be desperate for a 3-0 series win against Zimbabwe, especially to cover up their horrendous showing in the T20Is. If they do, the problems might, for now, cease to find the limelight. But even if they lose one match in the series, the already overflown wave of criticism will only go up.