DHAKA: Bangladesh hope to break out of a rut when they take on Zimbabwe in a one-off Test in Dhaka starting on Saturday, but coach Russell Domingo thinks the players need to change their thinking to achieve success.

Bangladesh have lost their last six Test matches — five of them by an innings or more — but they have also beaten Zimbabwe five times in their last six encounters.

“We do need to develop a Test culture within the playing group,” said Domingo, who took on the coaching job in August.

Saturday’s Test will be 100th international between the two nations, a familiarity Zimbabwe captain Craig Ervine hopes will benefit the visitors.

“These conditions are a little bit familiar to us as we have toured here often in the past,” he said. “It should be a very good contest.”

Zimbabwe pushed Sri Lanka hard in two home matches in January — their first Test series in more than a year — before narrowly going down 1-0.

“The momentum gained from that series, we want to carry that into the Test match against Bangladesh,” he said.

Zimbabwe will also play three ODIs and two Twenty20s during their Bangladesh tour.

Teams (from):

BANGLADESH: Mominul Haque (captain), Tamim Iqbal, Saif Hassan, Najmul Hossain, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mohammad Mithun, Liton Das, Taijul Islam, Abu Jayed, Nayeem Hasan, Ebadat Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Mehidy Hasan, Mustafizur Rahman, Hasan Mahmud, Yasir Ali

ZIMBABWE: Prince Masvaure, Kevin Kasuza, Craig Ervine (captain), Brendan Taylor, Timycen Maruma, Sikandar Raza, Regis Chakabva (wicket-keeper), Tinotenda Mutombodzi, Donald Tiripano, Carl Mumba, Victor Nyauchi, Brian Mudzinganyama, Chris Mpofu, Ainsley Ndlovu, Charlton Tshuma.

Published in Dawn, February 22nd, 2020