Tigers take lead to 152
Bangladesh’s spinners, yet again in the series, proved to be Zimbabwe’s Achilles’ heel, as the turners scalped seven wickets in Chittagong on the third day of the final Test, to bowl out the visitors for 374 and achieve a sizeable lead.
The only difference here was that instead of Bangladesh’s traditional slow-left arm attack it was the loopy leg-spin of young Jubair Hossain, who took his maiden five-wicket haul, that left the Zimbabweans short of their expected score on a track that still seemed good for batting.
After the innings turnover, Bangladesh reached stumps at 23 for no loss.
Beginning the day at 113 for one, Hamilton Masakadza and Sikandar Raza continued with their aggressive approach and reached 150 in 36.1 overs. The pair posted Zimbabwe’s highest ever stand against the Tigers, beating Tatenda Taibu and Brendan Taylor’s stand of 150 achieved in 2005.
However, ten runs later Masakadza’s attempt to force one to the leg side led to him being trapped in front by Shafiul Islam for 81. That led to a mini-collapse for the visitors.
From 169 for one, they crumbled to 209 for five.
Captain Taylor attempted to drive a flighted delivery from Jubair, only to edge it to mid-off. Two balls later, Raza got the edge off a leg-break that looked to have had an extra inch of turn and returned for 82. Craig Ervine, whose only escape against Jubair seemed to be the sweep, paid the price for a pre-meditated hit as Jubair bowled a faster full-length delivery to hit the timber.
Elton Chigumbura and Regis Chakabva shared a 113-run stand for the sixth wicket to frustrate the hosts. While Chigumbura attempted to counter the attack with some aggressive hits, Chakbva remained firm at the other end.
The partnership did witness its share of missed opportunities, which on another day could have resulted in wickets. Chakabva misread a googly from Jubair and left it. The ball struck his pad and the batsman was adjudged not out. The Tigers’ review failed due to the umpire’s call. Mushfiqur, visibly irritated with the decision, was seen discussing the issue with the umpire while leaving the field for tea.
Mahmudullah Riyad dropped Chigumbura twice at the slips. The first instance was off Rubel Hossain, as Riyad failed to get down in time to collect the edge. The second one was a difficult chance and saw an edge induced by Taijul Islam flash past Riyad’s head. The breakthrough eventually came after an in-swinger from Shafiul trapped Chakabva in front. From there on, Zimbabwe went on in a downward spiral. Slow-left armers Shakib Al Hasan and Taijul Islam took a wicket each and Jubair did the rest.
The 19-year-old removed Chigumbura for 88 with a teasing leg-break that the batsman edged to slips after attempting a heave outside the off-stump. His five-wicket haul was completed after Natsai M’Shangwe’s slog against the bowler ended up reaching the hands of Mahmudullah at deep cover.
Source: The Daily Star
