SYLHET: Blessing Muzarabani’s nine-wicket match figures and determined batting helped Zimbabwe stun Bangladesh by three wickets in the first match of the two-Test series in Sylhet on Wednesday.

Mehidy Hasan Miraz recorded his second five-wicket haul for the match but it was in vain as Zimbabwe’s batsmen held their nerve to close out the match despite losing quick wickets.

Zimbabwe chased down their target of 174 by the third session of the fourth day with three wickets in hand, their first win against Bangladesh since 2018, and their first against any team in four years, to secure a 1-0 lead.

Brian Bennett racked up his second fifty of the match to lead the chase on a surface that Bangladesh’s bowlers failed to exploit early.

Bennett and his opening partner Ben Curran laid a solid foundation with a partnership of 95 runs before Curran fell to Mehidy while attempting to play him over long on.

Curran failed to gauge the spin and ended up sending a catch to the mid-off.

Mehidy quickly bagged four more wickets, sending tremors through the Zimbabwe camp, while Taijul Islam chipped in with another two.

But Wessly Madhevere (19 not out), Wellington Masakadza (12), and Richard Ngarava (four not out) held their nerve to guide Zimbabwe home.

Bangladesh posted 255 in the second innings, with captain Najmul Hossain Shanto and wicket-keeper-batter Jaker Ali contributing with a fifty each.

But the failures of batsmen such as Mus­hfiqur Rahim and Mehidy prevented them from setting up a more challenging target.

The Sylhet pitch is known to assist the fast bowlers but, unlike Muzarabani, Bangladesh’s pacemen failed to capitalise on the home conditions. The onus fell on the spin duo of Mehidy and Taijul but their efforts weren’t enough.

It was Zimbabwe’s eighth win over Bangladesh in 19 Tests, equalling Bangl­adesh’s number of victories against them.

Scoreboard

BANGLADESH (1st Innings) 191

ZIMBABWE (1st Innings) 273

BANGLADESH (2nd Innings, overnight 194-4):

Shadman Islam c Williams b Muzarabani 4

Mahmudul Hasan c Ervine b Muzarabani 33

Mominul Haque c Mayavo b Nyauchi 47

Najmul Hossain c Nyauchi b Muzarabani 60

Mushfiqur Rahim c Ervine b Muzarabani 4

Jaker Ali c Welch b Muzarabani 58

Mehidy Hasan c Bennett b Muzarabani 11

Taijul Islam c Mayavo b Ngarava 1

Hasan Mahmud c Muzarabani b Masakadza 12

Khaled Ahmed c Ervine b Masakadza 0

Nahid Rana not out 0

EXTRAS (B-13, LB-2, W-10) 25

TOTAL (all out, 79.2 overs) 255

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-13 (Shadman), 2-73 (Mahmudul), 3-138 (Mominul), 4-155 (Mushfiqur), 5-194 (Najmul), 6-210 (Mehidy), 7-213 (Taijul), 8-248 (Hasan), 9-248 (Khaled)

BOWLING: Nyauchi 18-4-42-1 (1w), Muzarabani 20.2-5-72-6, Ngarava 19-0-74-1 (1w), Madhevere 8-1-32-0, Masakadza 14-4-20-2

ZIMBABWE (2nd Innings):

B. Bennett c Mushfiqur b Mehidy 54

B. Curran c Khaled b Mehidy 44

N. Welch lbw Taijul 10

S. Williams c Najmul b Mehidy 9

C. Ervine c Jaker b Taijul 10

W. Madhevere not out 19

N. Mayavo b Mehidy 1

W. Masakadza b Mehidy 12

R. Ngarava not out 4

EXTRAS (B-4, LB-7) 11

TOTAL (for seven wickets, 50.1 overs) 174

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-95 (Curran), 2-112 (Welch), 3-127 (Williams), 4-128 (Bennett), 5-144 (Ervine), 6-145 (Mayavo), 7-161 (Masakadza)

DID NOT BAT: B. Muzarabani, V. Nyauchi

BOWLING: Nahid 5-0-24-0, Hasan 4-1-13-0, Mehidy 22.1-8-50-5, Khaled 3-1-6-0, Taijul 16-0-70-2

RESULT: Zimbabwe won by three wickets.

PLAYER-OF-THE-MATCH: Blessing Muzarabani

The second and final Test is in Chatt­ogram from April 28.

Published in Dawn, April 24th, 2025