Bangladesh cricket team could not have asked for a better atmosphere heading into the third and final Test against Zimbabwe at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium starting today. Having already secured the series 2-0, the hosts have, so far, staged a great teamwork that was absent in the past 10 months and along the way also climbed the Test rankings for the first time in their 14-year history.
Mushfiqur Rahim became the most successful Bangladesh captain in the longer version and now he has the chance to become the first captain to lead the Tigers to a 3-0 series sweep. Only once Bangladesh have enjoyed a whitewash, 2-0 against the West Indies in 2009, but the Tigers had two different captains – Mashrafe bin Mortaza and Shakib al Hasan – during that series.
Shakib, the third cricketer to score a hundred and take 10 wickets in a match, proved his mettle and appeared as the major force behind Bangladesh’s success as his performances enabled the others around him to settle in and contribute more.
Mominul Haque and Mahmudullah have been in prime form lately and with Chittagong proving to be a happy hunting ground for the Tigers, their local hero Tamim Iqbal, who slammed a century in the previous Test in Khulna, will also be eager to extend his scoring form. Tamim is likely to get a new opening partner in Imrul Kayes, who replaced Shamsur Rahman in the squad.
The bowling department as usual will be led by the spinners. Shakib’s bowling took a lot of pressure off the youngsters Taijul Islam and Jubair Hossain which made them bowl more freely and as a result the trio scalped 36 off the 40 wickets in the two Tests. Pace bowler Shafiul Islam might finally get a nod and replace Shahadat Hossain.
Meanwhile, the visitors have a lot at stake. They might have lost the series, but still have plenty to play for in the remainder of their tour. Their batting has been the major concern and they must find a way to handle the home side’s spinners, not only to win the Test but carry some positives ahead of the five-match ODI series.
Hamilton Masakadza, Zimbabwe’s highest scorer in the series with 237 runs, indicated, “It is one of our aims to win this last one and end up 2-1 and get into the one-day series with a little bit of momentum.”
The 31-year-old also informed of chalking out a plan to keep Shakib away from any damage and said, “We worked plans for him, discussed in the team to find ways to counter him.”
It was only earlier this year Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara smashed a triple century at the ground where the last two matches ended in a draw. Therefore, another run-fest and a draw cannot be ruled out, but the way the home side’s spinners came out in the series so far – Bangladesh should not settle for anything less than 3-0.