Tigers face Zimbabwe in last T20 eying clean sweep

Bangladesh will play Zimbabwe in the second and final match of the two-match T20I series on Wednesday at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Mirpur, Dhaka eyeing to whitewash the tourists.

The match will begin at 6:00pm Bangladesh time. Gazi TV will telecast it live, reports UNB.

Bangladesh all-rounder Mahedi Hasan said they are looking to end the series on a high. Before the T20I series, Bangladesh beat Zimbabwe in the one-off Test and three-match ODI series and they made a spectacular start in the T20 series to take a 1-0 lead.

“We beat them in a dominating fashion in the lone Test and three-match ODI series. We’re looking to play the last match of the series in the same manner,” Mahedi told the media at the team hotel in the capital on Tuesday.

Before the match day, both the teams enjoyed a day-off as they did not turn out to the field to take preparations.

“We’re not taking Zimbabwe lightly as they can bounce back anytime in the shortest format of cricket. They’re a good side. But the positive thing is that most of our batsmen have been doing well in this series. Many of the batsmen are not getting a chance to bat on. So, we’re confident to end the series on high,” Mahedi said.

In the first game of the series, Liton Das and Soumya Sarkar hit a fifty each to guide the Tigers to 200 runs after they were invited to bat first. In reply, Zimbabwe tumbled for 152 and Bangladesh won the game by 48 runs.

Pacer Mustafizur Rahman and leg-spinner Aminul Islam Biplob bagged three wickets each to ensure a big win for the hosts.

Mahedi believes if Bangladesh can continue this good run, they will be more confident to play against Pakistan in April when they are scheduled to tour the country for a one-off ODI and one Test match.

“We’ve been playing a good brand of cricket against Zimbabwe. Now, we’re going to face them in the last match of the event. If we can end it on a high, it’ll boost our confidence ahead of the last phase of Pakistan series,” he added.

Bangladesh might rest newly-appointed ODI captain Tamim Iqbal in this game. To replace him, Mohammad Naim might get a chance.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has imposed restrictions on selling tickets of this match to discourage the people from public gathering in fear of spreading of coronavirus. As per the latest development, none will get more than one ticket for this game.

After this series, Bangladeshi cricketers will be busy taking part in the Dhaka Premier Division Cricket league which is scheduled to be played from 15 March.

Bangladesh line up (probable): Tamim Iqbal, Liton Das, Mahedi Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Mahmudullah (c), Afif Hossain, Soumya Sarkar, Mohammad Saifuddin, Aminul Islam, Shafiul Islam, Mustafizur Rahman

Zimbabwe line up (probable): Sikandar Raza, Tinashe Kamunhukamwe, Craig Ervine, Brendan Taylor, Sean Williams (Capt), Wesley Madhevere, Richmond Mutumbami (Wk), Donald Tiripano, Tinotenda Mutombodzi, Carl Mumba, Chris Mpofu