Bangladesh secured a comfortable win against Zimbabwe at Harare as they defeated the hosts by 220 runs in the solitary Test match.
The Tigers had a shaky start as they lost two quick wickets after winning the toss and preferring to bat first. But some solid batting down the order, including a 191-run stand for the ninth wicket formed by Mahmudullah and Taskin Ahmed, took Bangladesh to 468 in the first innings.
Zimbabwe had a good start in their first innings but the departure of skipper Brendon Taylor opened the floodgates as they had a batting collapse, costing them nine wickets for only 100 runs as Zimbabwe bundled out for only 276 runs, giving Bangladesh a healthy lead.
Bangladesh top order recovered from the poor show in the first innings as opener Shadman Islam registered his maiden Test ton whereas, Nazmul Hossain Shanto picked his second, allowing skipper Mominul Haque to declare at 284-1, setting the hosts a target of 477 runs.
Chasing a mammoth total, Zimbabwe had a brittle start as Taskin Ahmed struck early and then Taylor tried the daredevil way to score quick runs. But he ended up eight runs short of his seventh Test hundred (92 of 73).
After that, it was Taskin and Mahidy Hasan Miraz all the way who scythed through the inexperienced Zimbabwe middle order and restricted them to 256 runs, ensuring Bangladesh winning a Test match after 17 months.
Taskin, after getting his first Test half-century, did the talking with the ball also, as he picked four wickets. He came close to becoming the first pacer after Robiul Islam to take five wickets in an innings for Bangladesh, who had picked six wickets against the same opposition in the same ground back in 2013.
Though it was Taskin’s best Test performance so far as he ended with 4-82, his previous best was 4-127 against Sri Lanka in April, in the tour where he made a comeback to the Test team after being sidelined for more than three years due to injuries and bad patches.
The last two Zimbabwean batsmen kept frustrating Taskin, and from the other end, Mehidy broke the deadlock as Ngarava fell into the trap laid by him while attempting a big heave towards the legside but found himself tricked by a slower ball that hit the timber.
That brought the end of Zimbabwe’s innings as they were all-out for 256 runs in the second innings.
Earlier, Donald Tiripano delayed the celebration of Bangladesh with a patient innings of 52 runs from 144 balls. But his strong resistance was broken by Ebadat Hossain as he edged one to Liton though the umpire’s decision looked dubious.
Bangladesh last won any Test match was in February 2020, against Zimbabwe at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur. Since that, the Tigers played four Test matches where they lost three and managed to draw one against Sri Lanka.
This is also only the second win for Bangladesh against Zimbabwe in Zimbabwe. The only other Test win against the Zimbabweans in their backyard came in 2013 when the Tigers managed to win the second Test of the series and managed to level the two-match series 1-1.
Scorecard
Bangladesh: 468 & 284-1 dec. (Shanto 117*, Shadman 115*, Ngarava 1-36)
Zimbabwe: 276 & 256 (Taylor 92, Tiripano 52, Mehidy 4-66, Taskin 4-82)
Player of the match: Mahmudullah
