Dhaka- Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim came true to their captain’s assertion that they are the team’s most in-form batsmen and need to be given more opportunities to score runs.
They added 72 runs for the fourth wicket, in just eight overs, turning a leisurely start into a score of 297 for 6, their highest score in the series so far.
The pair got together when Anamul Haque was dismissed in the 36th over. Bangladesh were in control of their progress, but were not going at their desired speed.
That was corrected by Shakib and Mushfiqur, who first ensured nothing untoward happened in the second Powerplay, before launching into the Zimbabwe attack.
The bowling attack was not at its best, bowling too many loose deliveries and was, in fact, lucky to get away with it for the first 35-odd overs, before the Bangladesh middle order found boundaries with regularity.
Only Tinashe Panyangara remained the stronghold, taking two for 54 while Neville Madziva, Tafadzwa Kamungozi and Hamilton Masakadza took one each.
Mushfiqur and Shakib took 45 runs in three overs between the 41st and 43rd overs. Shakib hammered three fours and Mushfiqur struck two fours and a six, changing the course of the match.
Bangladesh added 103 runs in the last 10 overs ultimately, though they would have liked the pair to bat in the last five overs as well.
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Shakib was out trying to pull Panyangara at the start of the 44th over while five balls later, Mushfiqur dragged the ball onto the stumps.
Shakib made 40 off 33 balls, but he remained 24 runs short of becoming the first Bangladeshi to score 4 000 ODI runs. He is still ahead of Tamim Iqbal, who is 55 runs away from the same milestone.
Mahmudullah and Sabbir Rahman handled the final onslaught, adding 46 runs for the sixth wicket in five overs.
Anamul and Tamim gave a start similar to the second ODI, a solid rather than a flying start, after Zimbabwe opted to bowl. It was the first time a Bangladesh opening partnership added more than hundred runs in two consecutive matches.
Anamul had plenty of strike in the early skirmishes, facing 22 deliveries out of the first five overs. Tamim started with a six in the first over, but was generally quiet at the other end.
The opening pair batted chanceless for 25,5 overs, adding 121 runs. The partnership ended when a mix-up for a second run produced Tamim’s dismissal when the batsman had dropped his bat and jumped to cross the popping crease.
His feet were in the air as Hamilton Masakadza broke the stumps at the non-striker’s end and then threw it towards wicketkeeper Peter Moor as Anamul too was struggling to make the crease.
Replays revealed Tamim was the one who was out, for 40 off 63 balls, with two fours and the lone six over long-on. Mominul Haque, back at his No 3 position, failed to connect a full ball and gave a catch to mid-off, after adding 39 runs for the second wicket.
Anamul, however, batted steadily. After reaching his fifty off 66 balls, he moved to 54 with a violent hit off Vusi Sibanda’s easy full toss, but he only picked up singles and doubles for the next 12 overs.
Bangladesh were without a boundary from 20,4 to 32,4 overs, before Anamul broke the duck with two quick fours. As he neared the nineties, Bangladesh continued to make slow progress.
On the first ball of the second Powerplay, he launched a full toss from Kamungozi into the safe hands of substitute fielder Shingi Masakadza at deep midwicket. He was short of his fourth ODI 100 by just five runs, having faced 120 balls and struck nine fours.
Anamul’s clip through square leg and the lofted shot over cover stood out, but otherwise he played the percentage areas — third man and fine leg — quite well.
He kept the scoreboard moving, but at a slower pace than required against a bowling attack that had little threat. He did very little against the string of rank long-hops and full tosses, sometimes surprised by the pace and length of the ball.
— Cricinfo
