HARARE: Blessing Muzarabani took four wickets and captain Richard Ngarava three for Zimbabwe as they bowled Bangladesh out for 185 on Tuesday to win a one-off Test in Harare.
The tourists had fared even in worse in their first innings, making a meagre 140.
An Innocent Kaia century steered Zimbabwe to 410 in reply.
Zimbabwe won the match by an innings and 85 runs to achieve a second victory in their last three Tests against the south Asians.
Player of the match Kaia said: “This victory is a reward for hard work, with a strong emphasis on fitness.
“It was a tough wicket to play on. Credit to the Bangladesh bowlers as I think they did well. But it was my game.”
Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain said: “In the first innings, we did not bat properly. That cost us the match. Our bowling was also not good enough.
“We came to Zimbabwe having played some good cricket in a recent series win over Pakistan. But we did not adapt to different conditions here.” Bangladesh, 40-1 overnight and 230 runs behind, were no match for the Zimbabwe bowlers on the third day with only Mushfiqur Rahim (34) and Shanto (30) offering sustained resistance.
Opener Mahmudul Hasan Joy (22) was the first Bangladeshi to fall on Tuesday, caught at gully by Brian Bennett off a Muzarabani delivery.
The dismissal of Mominul Haque soon after left the visitors on 48-3 before Mushfiqur and Najmul added 61 runs in the only fruitful Bangladesh partnership.
SCOREBOARD
BANGLADESH (1st Innings) 140 (Mominul Haque 60; N. Nyamhuri 4-61)
ZIMBABWE (1st Innings) 410 (I. Kaia 140; Taijul Islam 7-138)
BANGLADESH (2nd Innings, overnight 40-1):
Mahmudul Hasan c Bennett b Muzarabani 22
Shadman Islam c Curran b Ngarava9
Mominul Haque c Evans b Muzarabani 13
Najmul Hossain b Nyamhuri30
Mushfiqur Rahim c Tsiga b Muzarabani 34
Towhid Hridoy c Evans b Muzarabani9
Amite Hasan c Ervine b Ngarava25
Taijul Islam c Tsiga b Evans8
Hasan Mahmud c Muzarabani b Nyamhuri 15
Khaled Ahmed c Tsiga b Ngarava0
Ebadot Hossain not out12
EXTRAS (LB-5, W-3)8
TOTAL (all out, 45 overs)185
FALL OF WICKETS: 1-22 (Shadman), 2-41 (Mahmudul), 3-46 (Mominul), 4-107 (Najmul), 5-117 (Mushfiqur), 6-124 (Towhid), 7-158 (Taijul), 8-162 (Amite), 9-162 (Khaled)
BOWLING: Ngarava 9-1-32-3, Muzarabani 17-3-65-4 (1w), Evans 11-1-55-1 (2w), Nyamhuri 8-0-28-2
RESULT: Zimbabwe won by an innings and 85 runs.
MAN OF THE MATCH: Innocent Kaia
Published in Dawn, July 1st, 2026