Hosts Bangladesh will be eager to continue their impressive run this year when they face tourists Zimbabwe today in the first of three ODIs at Mirpur’s Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium.
The Tigers will also look to consolidate their seventh position in the International Cricket Council’s ODI rankings with an outright victory today.
A year has never been so special to Bangladesh cricket like 2015. The side enjoyed a great run in the ICC World Cup down under, qualifying for the quarter-finals for the very first time.
The Tigers maintained their good run later in the year as they easily overcame the challenges of Pakistan, India and South Africa, surprising many in world cricket.
With another home series – this time against a lower-ranked Zimbabwe side – looming in the horizon, nothing but a whitewash will suffice for the Tigers.
In their bid to clinch a series sweep, the Tigers received some bad news in the shape of dashing opening batsman Soumya Sarkar, who was ruled out at the eleventh hour due to an unfortunate side-strain injury.
In Soumya’s absence, left-handed batsman Imrul Kayes is all set to get the opening nod today, alongside regular opener Tamim Iqbal. A number of low scores saw Imrul ousted from the national side but Soumya’s injury has opened the door for the Meherpur lad. Now that the opportunity has arrived, Imrul will be desperate to cash in.
Good news for Bangladesh is that almost all of their batsmen are in good nick. Slight worries though are still lingering over the fitness of Mashrafe, who recently recovered from dengue fever and is yet to be fully fit.
The “Narail Express” bowled seven overs and conceded 35 runs in the lone warm-up against the Zimbabweans last Thursday in Fatullah and the hosts will be keeping their fingers crossed so that he does not break down in any new injury.
On the other hand, the Bangladesh ODIs and Twenty20 internationals will present the Zimbabweans with the perfect opportunity to banish the memories of their recent ODI and T20I series defeat at home against Afghanistan. In order to salvage some lost pride, Zimbabwe will need to play out of their skins and hope Bangladesh buckle under pressure in front of their own crowd.
Recent record though is weighing heavily against the southern African nation. In their last 10 ODIs against Bangladesh, Zimbabwe have only been victorious twice.
The tourists however, will take some heart from their seven-wicket win against the Bangladesh Cricket Board XI last Thursday in Fatullah. Against the home side featuring as many as five cricketers from the national side, the Zimbabwean bowlers were sharp and restricted their opposition to an achievable score.
While the visitors’ top order was also on song, led by Craig Ervine, Sean Williams and captain Elton Chigumbura.
The first ODI will begin at 1 in the afternoon and all the action can be found live on Bangladesh Television and Gazi TV.
