Bangladesh's batting frailties were exposed again as they slumped to a 13-run defeat against Zimbabwe in the second ODI at Harare Sports Club on Thursday, conceding the three-match series with one game to spare.
Chasing a modest 248 after their shocking collapse while pursuing 142 in the series opener, Bangladesh were bowled out for 234 in 48.1 overs despite promising starts from several batters.
The defeat handed Zimbabwe an unassailable 2-0 lead and marked another disappointing chapter in Bangladesh's inconsistent ODI campaign.
Tanzid Hasan top-scored with 57 off 70 balls, while Towhid Hridoy made a patient 60 and Nurul Hasan added 38. At 169-3 in the 37th over, Bangladesh appeared well on course for victory.
However, the familiar pattern of losing wickets in clusters resurfaced.
Hridoy's dismissal triggered a collapse as Bangladesh lost seven wickets for just 65 runs. Richard Ngarava led Zimbabwe's fightback with 3-55, removing Nurul Hasan, Mosaddek Hossain and captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz, whose 27-run resistance ended with Bangladesh still needing 14 runs.
Blessing Muzarabani claimed 2-33, while Brad Evans took 2-48.
Earlier, Bangladesh's bowlers had dominated the opening exchanges after Zimbabwe elected to bat.
Taskin Ahmed struck twice inside the first three overs before Nahid Rana dismissed captain Craig Ervine to leave the hosts struggling at 32-3.
But Bangladesh failed to capitalize.
Opener Ben Curran anchored Zimbabwe's recovery with an unbeaten 111 off 135 balls, while Evans smashed an unbeaten 58 from just 38 deliveries.
Their unbroken 99-run partnership for the seventh wicket transformed the innings after Zimbabwe had slipped to 148-6. The hosts hammered 60 runs in the final five overs, lifting the total to a competitive 247-6.
Taskin finished with 2-57 despite his early breakthroughs, while Mehidy Hasan Miraz was Bangladesh's most economical bowler with 2-32. Nahid Rana and Rishad Hossain picked up one wicket each.
Bangladesh will now play the final ODI aiming to avoid a series whitewash after another match in which promising positions with both bat and ball ended in costly collapses.
