by Akseli Pitkänen Let's recap Zimbabwe's history in the longest format. Back in 2001, Zimbabwe last won a match outside of home, although in 2013, they last beat a visiting side. It happened to be Pakistan. In the recent times, the moments to be satisfied have been on a thin layer. However, this doesn't account some moral boosts. There has been cases such as pushing Sri Lanka to the limit. In that one, the win for the Lankans was tantalizingly close. Then Zimbabwe secured a monumental Test draw against West Indies. The win account was left on the shopping list. It was only a matter of time when Zimbabwe, who got left out of the Test championship, would win a desired Test. Not only for Zimbabweans but also for all the Test fans. Even though ODI matches differ from Test ones, you may look at them as a guide to what the particular country brings in cricket. Let's look at Zimbabwe's ODI matches; as of late their recent form hasn't been as great as they would like. Just before the Test match which I will soon tell you, Zimbabwe lost to Bangladesh in completely miserable fashion. The better cricket country South Africa also trounced Zimbabwe, 3-0. Also at home Zimbabwe lost to Pakistan 5-0. Zimbabwe couldn't find a welcomed result in any format for a long period of time, even though Zimbabwe got Brendan Taylor and Kyle Jarvis back in the squad. How was Zimbabwe then capable of defeating Bangladesh in a Test? How did the new heroes show their skills? Here's the passage of play from day one: It all began with the coin toss naturally. Hamilton called heads, and heads it was. Alistair Campbell asked sarcastically if he'd like to bat. To no surprise, Hamilton agreed. It often pays dividends to bat first, as the wicket deteriorates as the game goes on. Mind you, it's a possible five day Test! Zimbabwe chose debutants in 25-year-old Wellington Masakadza and only 21-year-old Brandon Mavuta, a left-arm spinner, and a legspinner, respectively. Also Bangladesh offered new places. The more experienced Ariful Haque and Nazmul Islam made their way into the team. These were announced on day one. Then to the match! Hamilton Masakadza and Brian Chari opened the batting. In the very first over Hamilton opened his accounts with a cover drive, scoring the first runs for his team. Unlike Zimbabwe, Bangladesh started with a seam-spin combination, with Abu Jayed from one end and Taijul Islam from the other. In the 4th and 8th over Hamilton decided to take the game plan in his control. He hit two massive hits off Taijul for 12 runs. The 1st wicket happened before the 1st drinks break. Chari departed. Taijul took as well the 2nd wicket. This time Brendan Taylor. It brought Sean Williams in the middle. Couple fours and H Masakadza brought up a 50 to his side. Lunch break: 85-2 Immediately after lunch, Hamilton was trapped LBW. Nazmul Islam, the snake dancer, clean bowled Sikandar Raza after his couple boundaries. The game looked tight when Peter Moor came to the crease to support Williams. I have to mention the fact that Williams' game looked stable right from the beginning. He hit glorious sweep shots and wasn't afraid to hit cover drives as well. It was only a matter of time until he would pass 50. This happened at the 60 over mark, and he continued to play indescribably well after tea. He hit two sweep shots at the expense of the snake dancer, the first one behind square leg and the next one in front of square. He scored over 20 valuable runs from that area. Eventually Bangladesh captain Mahmudullah Riyad brought himself on with off spinners and got the needed breakthrough of Williams. Nice grab at slip and William's 88 runs off 173, 9 boundaries came to an end. Moor was more passive and didn't get boundaries the same way. The opening day came to a conclusion at 236-5 off 91 overs with Moor on 37 and Chakabva on 20 knowing that more runs were to be possibly come after their night. Moor brought up his 50 quite quickly. However, at the other end, things started to open up. Taijul Islam started to gain momentum. First he dismissed Chakabva, and then Wellington Masakadza. Suddenly each ball looked like a wicket taking ball. When Nazmul snared an LBW, the matches seemed in balance. Taijul landed two more blows in two balls, thus ending the innings. He took 6 wickets and BD had a great morning. 46-5 early in the morning and Zimbabwe were all out 282 on the board. Taijul's innings figures were a remarkable 6-108. Liton Das and Imrul Kayes walked into the crease. Zimbabwe's seam bowlers Tendai Chatara and Kyle Jarvis bowling 1st. Zimbabweans were right on the money from the start. Chatara picked up 3 early wickets and Jarvis one. It took 10 overs and the situation was already 19-4. Catastrophic beginning to the home side. Two wickets came off inside edges to the stumps and two were caught by the wicket keeper. When the seamers ran out of steam, Raza came to the party. He picked up three wicket and Bangladesh were out for a sub-total of 143. The only resistance came from Ariful Haque's unbeaten 41, which included a few strong hits. Zimbabwe dealt with two more overs and made sure they had a large lead, of 140 runs. Day 3. Hamilton continued where he had left off. This time Taylor decided to attack freely. He hit big fours. He got the flow into the innings but hit one too many. When Zimbabwe had 100 on the board, they led by 240 with 8 wickets remaining. Unfortunately they collapsed. Taijul had two hat trick balls. 1st was 1st ball in the 2nd inns and the other one a bit later. He didn't get a hat trick. However he was a notable character for Bangladesh and took five more. Altogether he got 11 for the match and took his 1st 10-for. The Tigers got a moral advantage in the end but every cricketer knew that the required 321 in the last innings would be an insurmountable score. Raza created the first opening, and soon after, it was a one-sided affair. All the time the new batsman came to replace the one gone. It was almost as if there were demons in the pitch. There were cracks here and there. You could say that the spin and extra bounce made BD feel pain. Zimbabwe took splendid wickets and catches. Zimbabwe played as a team with a big'T'. Spin bowlers were the unique part of the game for Zim. The spinners were on top of the game, the adequate part of the last innings. Brandon Mavuta, Wellington Masakadza, and Sikandar Raza shone as the dynamic new-look spin trio for Team Zimbabwe. Bangladesh found it very difficult to build partnerships. And as Wellington took the decisive wicket the party was ready to begin!
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