Zimbabwe outfox Bangladesh in first T20I: Key stats
A batting masterclass guided Zimbabwe to a 1-0 lead over Bangladesh in the three-match T20I series on Saturday. Opting to bat first, the hosts compiled 205/3 in 20 overs. Sikandar Raza (65*) and Wesley Madhevere (67) racked up stellar tallies for Ervine & Co. Later, there were a few top knocks from Bangladeshi batters but they weren't enough (188/6). Here are the stats.
How did the first T20I pan out?
Bangladesh conceded 205/3 after being put to bowl. Mustafizur Rahman had a mixed result at work (2/50). Despite being 43/2 in 6.1 overs, Zimbabwe yielded 77 runs in the last five overs. Litton Das (32) and Najmul Hossain Shanto (37) piled up brisk runs to cut the chase. Despite skipper Nurul Hasan (42*) joining the party, the visitors fell short by 17 runs.
Joint-seventh highest wicket-taker in T20Is
Mustafizur showed promise at the start but ended up with an expensive show. The left-armer clipped two wickets whilst conceding 50 runs. Nonetheless, he now has 89 T20I scalps at 20.90. Most notably, the 26-year-old is now the joint seventh-highest wicket-taker in T20I cricket. As per ESPNcricinfo, he has equaled Chris Jordan's wicket-tally. Mustafizur now eyes Ish Sodhi's tally (94).
Raza's purple patch continues
Raza was Zimbabwe's leading run-getter in the concluded ICC Men's T20 World Cup Qualifier. He extended his rich vein of form to whack 65* off 26 deliveries. His knock was laced with seven fours and four sixes. He now has 973 runs at a decent rate of 126.19. Notably, Raza has surpassed Brendan Taylor (934) to become the fourth-highest run-getter for Zimbabwe in T20Is.
Seventh T20I fifty for Madhevere
Madhevere enjoyed his battles against pacer Taskin Ahmed. He belted him for boundaries at will. He smacked a four off Ahmed to bring up his seventh T20I fifty. Madhevere smacked nine fours en route to his 46-ball 67. He now has 786 runs at 25.35.
Ervine rises up the scoring ladder
Craig Ervine's inning was short-lived as he was bowled out by Mosaddek Hossain on 21. Nonetheless, the skipper raced to 995 T20I runs. He surpassed the tallies of Graeme Smith (982) and Kamran Akmal (987). He is five short of attaining 1,000 T20I runs. He will become the third Zimbabwean batter besides Sean Williams (1,264) and Hamilton Masakadza (1,662) to attain the milestone.
1,000-plus T20I runs for Litton
Litton struck a solid-looking 32 off 19 deliveries. He hit six fours before being run out by Sean Williams. Nevertheless, the knock helped him get past 1,000 runs (1,012) at 20.24. He is the sixth Bangladeshi batter to have surpassed the milestone. Mahmudullah (2,043), Shakib (2,010), Tamim Iqbal (1,701), Mushfiqur Rahim (1,495), and Soumya (1,136) are the ones to have done it before.
Zimbabwe unlock this team record
As per ESPNcricinfo, Zimbabwe's 205/3 is their highest score against Bangladesh in T20I cricket. It is their second-highest score in the format, having bettered the previous best (200/2) against New Zealand in 2012. Meanwhile, Zimbabwe's highest score in an innings read 236/5 (vs Singapore, 2022).
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