152/10 (19.4)
CR : 7.73
186/5 (20.0)
CR : 9.30
Bangladesh won by 34 runs 🏆
Player of the Match
Mohammad Saifuddin
1/3631(10)*
BAN won by 34 runs
7:30 PM IST, 4:00 PM local time: After dominating the proceedings in the first game, Zimbabwe lose the plot in the second. Bangladesh win by 34 runs and level the series 1-1.
In all fairness, the hosts had themselves to blame. They dropped six catches in the first innings. Yes, read that again — they DROPPED SIX CATCHES! Milton Shumba spilled four of those. That allowed the opening partnership to flourish.
Saif Hassan, who lived the fate of a cat today with several lives up his sleeves, and Tanzid Hasan Tamim took Bangladesh to 120/0. Then, there was a mini-collapse. From 120/0 in 14.3 overs to 141/5 in 16.5. But Mohammad Saifuddin orchestrated a recovery. He smacked Brad Evans for four successive sixes and scored 28 runs off the final over to take the visitors to 186/5. Zimbabwe's tactics were questionable too. Despite Bangladesh's top order being vulnerable against pace and extra bounce in the last match, they decided to bowl a lot more spin up front today. Although eventually, Richard Ngarava once again turned out to be the pick of the bowlers and finished with 2/23 off his 4 overs.
However, the batting started off on a positive note. They scored 15 runs off the first 4 balls of the innings and then, lost the wicket of Marumani to an tame shot. That was followed by some spicy, yet wicket-to-wicket bowling from Bangladesh. Brian Bennett, Dion Myers and Milton Shumba all missed straight ones and lost their stumps. There were 3 knocks — from Sikandar Raza, Ryan Burl and Brad Evans — that inspired fightback, albeit briefly. Alas, none of those batters could cross 30.
Bangladesh not only kept chipping away with wickets but unlike the hosts, also caught well. Rishad Hossain picked 4/26 while Mahedi Hasan managed 3/24. Taskin Ahmed had an off day, whereas Nahid Rana had to leave the field after bowling 2.3 overs. Bangladesh will hope that he is able to be fit in time for the decider.
In all fairness, the hosts had themselves to blame. They dropped six catches in the first innings. Yes, read that again — they DROPPED SIX CATCHES! Milton Shumba spilled four of those. That allowed the opening partnership to flourish.
Saif Hassan, who lived the fate of a cat today with several lives up his sleeves, and Tanzid Hasan Tamim took Bangladesh to 120/0. Then, there was a mini-collapse. From 120/0 in 14.3 overs to 141/5 in 16.5. But Mohammad Saifuddin orchestrated a recovery. He smacked Brad Evans for four successive sixes and scored 28 runs off the final over to take the visitors to 186/5. Zimbabwe's tactics were questionable too. Despite Bangladesh's top order being vulnerable against pace and extra bounce in the last match, they decided to bowl a lot more spin up front today. Although eventually, Richard Ngarava once again turned out to be the pick of the bowlers and finished with 2/23 off his 4 overs.
However, the batting started off on a positive note. They scored 15 runs off the first 4 balls of the innings and then, lost the wicket of Marumani to an tame shot. That was followed by some spicy, yet wicket-to-wicket bowling from Bangladesh. Brian Bennett, Dion Myers and Milton Shumba all missed straight ones and lost their stumps. There were 3 knocks — from Sikandar Raza, Ryan Burl and Brad Evans — that inspired fightback, albeit briefly. Alas, none of those batters could cross 30.
Bangladesh not only kept chipping away with wickets but unlike the hosts, also caught well. Rishad Hossain picked 4/26 while Mahedi Hasan managed 3/24. Taskin Ahmed had an off day, whereas Nahid Rana had to leave the field after bowling 2.3 overs. Bangladesh will hope that he is able to be fit in time for the decider.
Highest 9th wicket partnership for Zimbabwe in T20Is:
54 runs - Mohammad Faraz Akram & Wellington Pedzisai Masakadza vs Bangladesh, Chattogram, 2024
40 runs - Brad Evans & Richard Ngarava vs Bangladesh, Bulawayo, 2026*
39 runs - Elton Chigumbura & Prosper Utseya vs Pakistan, 2015
54 runs - Mohammad Faraz Akram & Wellington Pedzisai Masakadza vs Bangladesh, Chattogram, 2024
40 runs - Brad Evans & Richard Ngarava vs Bangladesh, Bulawayo, 2026*
39 runs - Elton Chigumbura & Prosper Utseya vs Pakistan, 2015
Most runs for Zimbabwe in T20Is:
Sikander Raza - 3137 runs (130 inns)
Ryan Burl - 2005 runs (111 inns)*
Brian Bennett - 1943 runs (60 inns)
Sikander Raza - 3137 runs (130 inns)
Ryan Burl - 2005 runs (111 inns)*
Brian Bennett - 1943 runs (60 inns)
Time for the Post-Match Presentations...
Sikandar Raza (Zimbabwe Captain): (On reading the pitch wrongly) "If you look at the first few overs, the ball definitely turned. Even for the seamers, there was a bit of bounce and the surface was quite slow. We knew the wicket would get better for batting before it started turning more.
(On Zimbabwe's overall performance) If I have to sum it up, I'm genuinely embarrassed as captain. The way we fielded had a ripple effect on our batting. Credit to our bowlers - apart from the last over, I thought they did an excellent job. Even after we had dropped so many catches, we still kept Bangladesh to around 158 or 159 after 19 overs, which was a tremendous effort. The last over didn't go our way, but our poor fielding eventually carried into our batting, and that's why we performed the way we did.
(On Bangladesh's opening partnership and staying in the game) Even after their opening partnership, we never felt the game had slipped away from us. Despite our fielding, I still believed we were in the contest. It wasn't a pitch where batters could come in and start hitting from the first ball. They needed time to settle, and the new batters didn't really have that luxury. That's why Bangladesh lost wickets in clusters. However, the last over took the game away from us.
(On the costly final over) Of course, the last over hurt us, but I think it was a consequence of the way we fielded throughout the innings. Brad didn't intend to bowl the way he did - there were a couple of good shots and a couple of poor deliveries. To sum up our performance, we even dropped a catch off the final ball of the innings. That tells you everything about how poor we were in the field today. Conceding nearly 30 runs in the last over made the target much tougher, but even if they had finished with around 165, I don't think we deserved to win because of the way we fielded."
(On Zimbabwe's overall performance) If I have to sum it up, I'm genuinely embarrassed as captain. The way we fielded had a ripple effect on our batting. Credit to our bowlers - apart from the last over, I thought they did an excellent job. Even after we had dropped so many catches, we still kept Bangladesh to around 158 or 159 after 19 overs, which was a tremendous effort. The last over didn't go our way, but our poor fielding eventually carried into our batting, and that's why we performed the way we did.
(On Bangladesh's opening partnership and staying in the game) Even after their opening partnership, we never felt the game had slipped away from us. Despite our fielding, I still believed we were in the contest. It wasn't a pitch where batters could come in and start hitting from the first ball. They needed time to settle, and the new batters didn't really have that luxury. That's why Bangladesh lost wickets in clusters. However, the last over took the game away from us.
(On the costly final over) Of course, the last over hurt us, but I think it was a consequence of the way we fielded throughout the innings. Brad didn't intend to bowl the way he did - there were a couple of good shots and a couple of poor deliveries. To sum up our performance, we even dropped a catch off the final ball of the innings. That tells you everything about how poor we were in the field today. Conceding nearly 30 runs in the last over made the target much tougher, but even if they had finished with around 165, I don't think we deserved to win because of the way we fielded."
Player of the Match: Mohammad Saifuddin
Mohammad Saifuddin (POTM): "(His immediate thoughts) Thanks to the almighty. After a long time, I have got the Player of the Match in T20. Also, we have made a comeback in the series. So, very happy.
(What helped them win the match?) Credit to the opening batters. They set the tone for us. Also, credit to the bowlers. I think Mahedi and Rishad bowled really well.
(Discussions coming into the game?) We had a lot of discussions about the conditions. It is winter here and back home, we have hot conditions. I think we found it difficult to adjust to the conditions initially. But today, our batters did a fine job."
(What helped them win the match?) Credit to the opening batters. They set the tone for us. Also, credit to the bowlers. I think Mahedi and Rishad bowled really well.
(Discussions coming into the game?) We had a lot of discussions about the conditions. It is winter here and back home, we have hot conditions. I think we found it difficult to adjust to the conditions initially. But today, our batters did a fine job."
Towhid Hridoy (Bangladesh Captain): (On Bangladesh's batting performance) "Our batting unit performed really well, and all the credit goes to the boys. They took responsibility, and we've always spoken about building partnerships. We had a very good partnership early in the innings, and that laid the foundation for us.
(On the team's batting approach) Our main focus was to build partnerships. We wanted a couple of solid stands, especially early in the innings, and we executed that plan really well today.
(On the seamers' performance) We knew early wickets were important, and our bowlers did a fantastic job. Our plan was to bowl stump to stump, and they executed it very well.
(On bouncing back after the previous defeat) As professional players, we have to adjust quickly. We understand the conditions much better now, so the focus was on adapting to them and executing our plans.
(On Nahid's injury) Hopefully, Nahid will be okay.
(On keeping the series alive) We're pleased to have kept the series alive, and we'll look to carry this momentum into the next game."
(On the team's batting approach) Our main focus was to build partnerships. We wanted a couple of solid stands, especially early in the innings, and we executed that plan really well today.
(On the seamers' performance) We knew early wickets were important, and our bowlers did a fantastic job. Our plan was to bowl stump to stump, and they executed it very well.
(On bouncing back after the previous defeat) As professional players, we have to adjust quickly. We understand the conditions much better now, so the focus was on adapting to them and executing our plans.
(On Nahid's injury) Hopefully, Nahid will be okay.
(On keeping the series alive) We're pleased to have kept the series alive, and we'll look to carry this momentum into the next game."
Six dropped catches — that was the story of the 2nd T20I of the series. It sets it up nicely for a decider on Sunday, July 19, to be played at the same venue.
Will Zimbabwe be able to bounce back? Will Bangladesh sustain the good work? Will Nahid Rana, who walked off the field after bowling 2.3 overs, be fit and available? Plenty to look forward to.
Do join us then. For now, this is the troika of Darpan Tikiya, Dev Rajawat and Manish Bishnoi saying goodbye. See you soon!
Will Zimbabwe be able to bounce back? Will Bangladesh sustain the good work? Will Nahid Rana, who walked off the field after bowling 2.3 overs, be fit and available? Plenty to look forward to.
Do join us then. For now, this is the troika of Darpan Tikiya, Dev Rajawat and Manish Bishnoi saying goodbye. See you soon!