144/6 (19.4)
CR : 7.32
143/7 (20.0)
CR : 7.15
Bangladesh won by 4 wickets 🏆
Player of the Match
T Hasan
66(58)*
BANGLADESH HAVE DONE IT AND IT'S MAHEDI HASAN WHO HAS HIT A FIRST BALL BOUNDARY! There seems to be a huge tussle in the middle between Brad Evans and Mahedi Hasan. The tempers flare up in the middle but it's BANGLADESH who win this match and the T20I series.
Over 20
Bangladesh 144/6
Mahedi Hasan4(1)
Tanzid Hasan66(58)
Brad Evans2-26(3.4)
BAN won by 4 wickets
7:40 PM IST & 4:10 PM Local Time: WOULD YOU BELIEVE IT? This game has gone down to the wire, but in the end, it's Bangladesh who have held their nerves to come out as a better side in the third and final T20I to win the match by 4 wickets, and they take the T20I series home with a scoreline of 2-1.
When everyone thought the game was done and it was just a matter of time before Bangla Tigers hit those winning runs comfortably, but then the home side said, HOLD ON!!! We are still not done. With 22 runs needed off the last 4 overs, Bangladesh were well and truly way ahead in the chase with Tanzid Hasan, the set-batter present in the middle.
But things changed very quickly for Zimbabwe, courtesy of an inspired over from their frontline seamers, Blessing Muzarabani and Richard Ngarava, who gave away just 5 and 4 runs in the 18th and 19th overs. Things were heating up in the middle with 5 runs needed off the last six balls. With Tanzid Hasan still present in the middle, Bangladesh would still not have panicked, and they would have backed themselves to chase it down.
Starting the first over, a single came off the first delivery, and Hasan was moved to the non-strikers' end. Brad Evans then cleaned up Mosaddek Hossain to make it 4 off 4 balls. He was again on the money to send Mohammad Saifuddin back for a golden duck. And suddenly, he found himself on a hat-trick with Bangladesh still needing 4 off 3 runs. Some confusion happened in the middle after that, and the hat-trick delivery was called a dead ball by the Umpire.
Mahedi Hasan held his nerve in the end and smashed a boundary off his first ball to take Bangladesh home and win the match by 4 wickets.
Cutting to the chase....
Coming to chase the tricky target of 144, Bangladesh also did not get the best of a start, losing their first wicket in the first over itself. Blessing Muzarabani and Richard Ngarava bowled exceptionally well in the power play to contain the Bangla batters. At the end of the power play, Bangladesh were just 30/1.
Tanzid Hasan decided to take the attack back to the bowlers after the power play and broke the shackles, which allowed the runs to flow for the Tigers. After the dismissal of Emon for 24(22), skipper Towid Hridoy joined Hasan in the middle and continued the proceedings with the bat for them. Meanwhile, Hasan brought up his half-century at the other end and both stitched up a 63-run partnership for the third wicket before Hridoy was dismissed by the opposition skipper on 24.
Tanzid Hasan decided to bat deep till the end and get his team near the target. He held one end, but there was a huge ruckus in the latter stage of the game, which took this game so close at the end and gave Zimbabwe a chance to bounce back in the game. He remained unbeaten on 66 off 58 deliveries. Blessing Muzarabani bowled a brilliant spell of 0/17. Richard Ngarava, Brad Evans and Sikandar Raza picked up a couple of wickets each. Zimbabwe did not give up till the very end, and they would be pretty much happy with how they responded with a small target on board.
What happened in the first innings...
Batting first, Zimbabwe started cautiously with Brian Bennett (47) doing the hard work in the middle after losing his opening partner, Tadiwanashe Marumani, early in the innings. Joined by Dion Mayers at the crease from the other end. Both stitched up 71 runs stand for the second wicket, but this took them 55 balls as well.
After the dismissal of Bennett's gritty stay at the crease, Myers took things into his own hands and launched back some fireworks at the Bangladesh bowlers. He scored 74(53), but apart from these batters, no one could make a mark with the bat. And full credit goes to the disciplined bowling showcased by the Bangla Tigers.
They always kept the scoring rate under check, and despite not getting wickets in the early stages, they bowled with immense patience and stuck to their plans. Takin Ahmed finished his spell giving away just 16 runs in his four overs. Mohammad Saifuddin picked up 2 wickets for Bangla Tigers. Due to an exceptional bowling display from the bowlers in the first innings, Zimbabwe could only manage 143/7.
When everyone thought the game was done and it was just a matter of time before Bangla Tigers hit those winning runs comfortably, but then the home side said, HOLD ON!!! We are still not done. With 22 runs needed off the last 4 overs, Bangladesh were well and truly way ahead in the chase with Tanzid Hasan, the set-batter present in the middle.
But things changed very quickly for Zimbabwe, courtesy of an inspired over from their frontline seamers, Blessing Muzarabani and Richard Ngarava, who gave away just 5 and 4 runs in the 18th and 19th overs. Things were heating up in the middle with 5 runs needed off the last six balls. With Tanzid Hasan still present in the middle, Bangladesh would still not have panicked, and they would have backed themselves to chase it down.
Starting the first over, a single came off the first delivery, and Hasan was moved to the non-strikers' end. Brad Evans then cleaned up Mosaddek Hossain to make it 4 off 4 balls. He was again on the money to send Mohammad Saifuddin back for a golden duck. And suddenly, he found himself on a hat-trick with Bangladesh still needing 4 off 3 runs. Some confusion happened in the middle after that, and the hat-trick delivery was called a dead ball by the Umpire.
Mahedi Hasan held his nerve in the end and smashed a boundary off his first ball to take Bangladesh home and win the match by 4 wickets.
Cutting to the chase....
Coming to chase the tricky target of 144, Bangladesh also did not get the best of a start, losing their first wicket in the first over itself. Blessing Muzarabani and Richard Ngarava bowled exceptionally well in the power play to contain the Bangla batters. At the end of the power play, Bangladesh were just 30/1.
Tanzid Hasan decided to take the attack back to the bowlers after the power play and broke the shackles, which allowed the runs to flow for the Tigers. After the dismissal of Emon for 24(22), skipper Towid Hridoy joined Hasan in the middle and continued the proceedings with the bat for them. Meanwhile, Hasan brought up his half-century at the other end and both stitched up a 63-run partnership for the third wicket before Hridoy was dismissed by the opposition skipper on 24.
Tanzid Hasan decided to bat deep till the end and get his team near the target. He held one end, but there was a huge ruckus in the latter stage of the game, which took this game so close at the end and gave Zimbabwe a chance to bounce back in the game. He remained unbeaten on 66 off 58 deliveries. Blessing Muzarabani bowled a brilliant spell of 0/17. Richard Ngarava, Brad Evans and Sikandar Raza picked up a couple of wickets each. Zimbabwe did not give up till the very end, and they would be pretty much happy with how they responded with a small target on board.
What happened in the first innings...
Batting first, Zimbabwe started cautiously with Brian Bennett (47) doing the hard work in the middle after losing his opening partner, Tadiwanashe Marumani, early in the innings. Joined by Dion Mayers at the crease from the other end. Both stitched up 71 runs stand for the second wicket, but this took them 55 balls as well.
After the dismissal of Bennett's gritty stay at the crease, Myers took things into his own hands and launched back some fireworks at the Bangladesh bowlers. He scored 74(53), but apart from these batters, no one could make a mark with the bat. And full credit goes to the disciplined bowling showcased by the Bangla Tigers.
They always kept the scoring rate under check, and despite not getting wickets in the early stages, they bowled with immense patience and stuck to their plans. Takin Ahmed finished his spell giving away just 16 runs in his four overs. Mohammad Saifuddin picked up 2 wickets for Bangla Tigers. Due to an exceptional bowling display from the bowlers in the first innings, Zimbabwe could only manage 143/7.
Its time for the post-match presentation.
Sikandar Raza (Zimbabwe Captain): "(On whether the first innings score was enough) I thought around 155 would have been a good score. We realised it was a typical Bulawayo wicket that was only going to get tougher to bat on as the game progressed, and that's exactly what happened. I think we were probably five to ten runs short. But having said that, I still feel our fielding let us down. It's been our Achilles' heel. Even so, we still managed to make a game of it. If you look at the dropped catches, the misfields and everything else we did in the field, they could easily have needed 15 runs in the final over instead of five. Unfortunately, it wasn't to be.
(About those extra 10 to 15 runs that were conceded in the field?) There were too many misfields, too many easy twos that shouldn't have been available. We had spoken about those things before the game. There was also a lack of awareness from the boundary fielders at times, which cost us valuable runs. There were several twos taken straight to the fielders that should never have happened. All those little moments added up. Overall, I thought our game awareness in the field today was quite poor.
( On the final over) Certainly, we backed Brad. Having five fielders inside the ropes would have been tough. Credit to Bangladesh for their victory. The margins are very fine in this format. (On the takeaways from this series) The real positive has been our bowling. The seamers have been brilliant. The spinners have done decently here and there.
(About the positives from the series and the challenges ahead) One positive was the partnerships we managed to build with the bat. But the biggest positive, in my opinion, was our bowling attack on these Bulawayo surfaces. Our seamers were outstanding throughout the series. The spinners contributed in patches, but I think the biggest success story for us was the performance of the fast bowlers, and that's something we'll take forward.
(On becoming the most capped Zimbabwean cricketer) It was a special day and the presentation became special due to the presence of my son. He wasn't supposed to be here but came down from Harare. It was a really great feeling."
(About those extra 10 to 15 runs that were conceded in the field?) There were too many misfields, too many easy twos that shouldn't have been available. We had spoken about those things before the game. There was also a lack of awareness from the boundary fielders at times, which cost us valuable runs. There were several twos taken straight to the fielders that should never have happened. All those little moments added up. Overall, I thought our game awareness in the field today was quite poor.
( On the final over) Certainly, we backed Brad. Having five fielders inside the ropes would have been tough. Credit to Bangladesh for their victory. The margins are very fine in this format. (On the takeaways from this series) The real positive has been our bowling. The seamers have been brilliant. The spinners have done decently here and there.
(About the positives from the series and the challenges ahead) One positive was the partnerships we managed to build with the bat. But the biggest positive, in my opinion, was our bowling attack on these Bulawayo surfaces. Our seamers were outstanding throughout the series. The spinners contributed in patches, but I think the biggest success story for us was the performance of the fast bowlers, and that's something we'll take forward.
(On becoming the most capped Zimbabwean cricketer) It was a special day and the presentation became special due to the presence of my son. He wasn't supposed to be here but came down from Harare. It was a really great feeling."
Player of the Match & Player of the Series: Tanzid Hasan Tamim
Tanzid Hasan Tamim (Player of the Match and Series)- "(On winning the match and his performance) Firstly, Alhamdulillah, we've won the series. It's an amazing feeling. I think our bowlers did a really good job today. They bowled brilliantly on that wicket. We knew it wasn't an easy surface to bat on, especially early in the innings. So my plan was to build a partnership and stay at the crease for as long as possible.
(Regarding his approach to this series) Yes, I think the key has been not trying to hit the ball too hard. It's about watching the ball carefully and playing according to its merit. That's been the most important thing.
(On the environment around the team and the feeling after making a comeback in the series) The feeling is amazing. We lost both the Test and ODI series, so to come back and win this T20I series is really special. I hope all the boys are enjoying the moment because it's a great feeling.
(On holding his nerves during the closing stages of the game) I was just trying to stay calm. My belief was that if I could stay at the crease and not lose my wicket, we would be able to finish the game. That was my mindset in that situation."
(Regarding his approach to this series) Yes, I think the key has been not trying to hit the ball too hard. It's about watching the ball carefully and playing according to its merit. That's been the most important thing.
(On the environment around the team and the feeling after making a comeback in the series) The feeling is amazing. We lost both the Test and ODI series, so to come back and win this T20I series is really special. I hope all the boys are enjoying the moment because it's a great feeling.
(On holding his nerves during the closing stages of the game) I was just trying to stay calm. My belief was that if I could stay at the crease and not lose my wicket, we would be able to finish the game. That was my mindset in that situation."
Towhid Hridoy (Bangladesh Captain): "(How happy are you with the way the boys performed throughout this T20I series?) Alhamdulillah, we did really well as both a batting unit and a bowling unit. In the last two matches, we dominated the game and stayed in control throughout.
(About the comeback after losing the first T20I) After we lost the first match, we had a team meeting where we discussed the conditions and how we wanted to approach the rest of the series. The boys responded really well. Both our batting and bowling units performed brilliantly.
(About Rishad Hossain's performance) We already know Rishad's ability. He just needed an opportunity, and when he got it, he showed his character. He's been a dominating bowler for us.
(About Tanzid Hasan's batting performance) He's a class batter. We know what he's capable of. Once he gets set, he always looks to finish the game, and that's exactly what he's done for the team.
(Finally, what has impressed you most about this young group over the past week?) They've shown great character, adapted well to the conditions and played as a team. That's been the most pleasing thing."
(About the comeback after losing the first T20I) After we lost the first match, we had a team meeting where we discussed the conditions and how we wanted to approach the rest of the series. The boys responded really well. Both our batting and bowling units performed brilliantly.
(About Rishad Hossain's performance) We already know Rishad's ability. He just needed an opportunity, and when he got it, he showed his character. He's been a dominating bowler for us.
(About Tanzid Hasan's batting performance) He's a class batter. We know what he's capable of. Once he gets set, he always looks to finish the game, and that's exactly what he's done for the team.
(Finally, what has impressed you most about this young group over the past week?) They've shown great character, adapted well to the conditions and played as a team. That's been the most pleasing thing."
That brings us to the close of this incredible T20 International series between Zimbabwe and Bangladesh, with the visitors taking the trophy home. For now, it's Soumarya Dutta signing off on behalf of my co-commentators Mohammad Anab and Abhishek Sharma, along with our Scorer/Analyst Paras Yadav. See you soon!