Bangladesh News

The Bangladesh bowlers caught the Zimbabwe batsmen wanting on a juicy track in the fourth one-dayer to clinch the series in grand style with one match in hand at the Chittagong Divisional Stadium yesterday.

Zimbabwe were simply outclassed in the short-lived match after being bundled out for 44 runs, the fifth lowest one-day total, thanks to some hostile bowling from the home side led by man-of-the match Nazmul Hossain, the pacer who started the carnage.

A failure at the top order couldn’t stop Bangladesh, who started the series on the wrong foot by losing the first game at Mirpur, to take an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match series with a six-wicket victory.

The match finished in less than three hours when the Tigers achieved the target in 11.5 overs much to the dismay of a packed home crowd who turned up at the ground anticipating a lot of fireworks.

It was a good toss to lose for Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan. But for his Zimbabwe counterpart Hamilton Masakadza the decision to bat first on a track which offered surprise turn and bounce completely backfired as his team perished even before the early morning dew dried up.

Nazmul, the lone paceman in the Tigers’ bowling attack, started it all by removing Masakadza in the very first over. Masakadza tried to go over the top of mid-on but failed to get enough bat on it and the ball lobbed up straight to Mohammad Ashraful at mid-on.

Left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak, who operated the new ball from the other end, induced Brendan Taylor to chip the ball back to the bowler in the very second over and in the following over Nazmul came up with a gem of a delivery to send Charles Coventry back to the pavilion.

Stuttering at 8 for 4, Stuart Matsikernyeri joined Mark Waller to stage a fightback but another left-arm spinner Enamul Haque broke the 24-run partnership to ensure Zimbabwe’s embarrassing demise.

Then it was matter of time for the local spinners to wrap up the visitors’ innings in 24.5 overs in front of a nearly 10,000 strong crowd in the port city ground.

Enamul claimed three wickets conceding 16 runs in seven overs while Shakib, after an almost barren spell in the first three games, picked up three wickets for 8 runs in 6.5 overs. Razzak, the leading wicket-taker in the series, captured two wickets for 10 in 5 overs and Nazmul finished with 2 for 10 in 5 overs.

With the series victory, their fourth on the trot, Bangladesh made sure that 2009 would be a memorable year following successes against the same team twice and against the West Indies.

It was a day when record rolled for good and bad reasons. It was the best bowling effort by the Tigers after they had dismissed Hong Kong for 105 runs in the 2004 Asia Cup in Colombo and it was the lowest total in this ground surpassing the previous lowest of 153 by Scotland in 2006.

Bangladesh had a great chance to secure their first-ever 10-wicket win in the one-day competition but the top order batting again wobbled despite Tamim Iqbal (22) and Zunaed Siddiqui (8) setting the tone for achieving that feat.

Left-arm spinner Raymond Price and Greame Cremer took two wickets each to give the indication that the match could have finished differently had their batsmen put a few more runs on the board.

The fifth and final match will take place at the same venue tomorrow