Tamim steers Bangladesh to series win

Bangladesh 189 for 4 (Tamim 95, Siddique 56*) beat Zimbabwe 188 for 6 (Taibu 64, Ervine 46, Shakib 3-58) by six wickets

Tamim Iqbal missed out on a hundred but put Bangladesh on course to victory © Associated Press

Tamim Iqbal's explosive 95 blew away Zimbabwe on a slow Chittagong pitch on which the visitors had limped to 188 for 6, giving Bangladesh a six-wicket victory and a sixth-consecutive series win over Zimbabwe. On a track where the rest of the batsmen managed ten boundaries, Tamim clattered seven sixes and five fours after starting cautiously and surviving some anxious moments. Despite three of the top five batsmen contributing 13 runs between them, and Junaid Siddique taking 105 deliveries to reach a half-century, Tamim's charge allowed Bangladesh to canter to victory as they took the series 3-1.

He had curbed his natural attacking instincts after Imrul Kayes fell to the fourth delivery of the chase, before opening up with a pull over square leg off Chris Mpofu in the seventh over. Mpofu's next over was an example of how the chase progressed - in sporadic spurts amid fortuitous let-offs. Tamim went for his favourite heave down the ground off the first delivery, but got an inside-edge that went just past the stumps for a boundary. The third delivery was lifted cleanly over long-off for six, before Mpofu made a mess of a straightforward chance as Tamim chipped a slower one in the air.

Tamim continued to take his chances, treating the spinners with disdain and repeatedly targeting the area between deep midwicket and long-off. He also played-and-missed in between, highlighting the slow nature of the pitch though it had quickened up a touch compared to when Zimbabwe were batting. Flicks and drives just cleared the infield, but what stood out in Tamim's effort was the urgency with which he approached the modest target, in stark contrast to Zimbabwe's batsmen who had crawled at around two an over for more than half their innings.

Siddique's effort was far scratchier as he struggled to find the gaps. But Tamim's briskness at the other end meant he could get away with working the ball around. Elton Chigumbura rotated his bowlers but it didn't have any effect on Tamim, who reached his half-century in the 20th over off 61 balls. Zimbabwe didn't help themselves as Tamim was left off once again, Tatenda Taibu failing to catch the bottom-edge off Ray Price. Tamim responded by moving from 50 to 95 in 34 deliveries, smashing five more sixes before falling while attempting yet another six, holing out to Graeme Cremer who took a diving catch running in from the deep midwicket boundary. By then, however, Bangladesh needed only 50 off 21 overs.

Taibu and Craig Ervine had earlier put on Zimbabwe's highest partnership of the series but their progress was painfully slow, before a late charge in the batting Powerplay took the visitors to 188 on a surface that didn't turn much. Only nine boundaries were hit - six of them in the final six overs - partly because of the low and slow nature of the surface and the damp outfield, but largely due to the lack of intent Zimbabwe displayed.

The first boundary came in the 24th over when Taibu stepped out and lifted Naeem Islam over mid-off. The batsmen showed more purpose after that and the duo had added 95 before Ervine fell, going for another reverse-sweep and getting a top edge that Mushfiqur Rahim gobbled up. Taibu, who made his first half-century of the series, continued to hustle between the wickets. From 137 for 4 after 44 overs, Zimbabwe took 42 off the batting Powerplay, using the lofted shot over the infield to good effect.

Zimbabwe's downward spiral had continued in the morning after Chigumbura opted to bat, and their confused state was typified by some mindless running. Bangladesh usually rely on their spinners to contain the runs but today their quicks, Mashrafe Mortaza and Shafiul Islam, did that job by being on target right from the start.

Zimbabwe helped Bangladesh with repeated attempts at self-destruction, the first of which came as early as the first legitimate delivery of the match, also the first free-hit of the series. Brendan Taylor pushed a full swinging delivery to extra cover and rushed more than halfway down the pitch before he glanced at Hamilton Masakadza, who was rightly rooted at the non-striker's end. Suhrawadi Shuvo had already swooped down on the ball, and waited for an instant before aiming at the striker's stumps and scoring a direct hit.

Mortaza deserved some rewards for his efforts, and soon trapped Masakadza and Dabengwa leg-before. Zimbabwe had slipped to 21 for 3, and the 11th over was already on. They never really recovered after that, and Tamim's blistering knock in his first series after wrist surgery shut them out completely. -Cricinfo

Zimbabwe survive dogged Shakib for close win

Zimbabwe 209 (Chakabva 45, Razzak 4-41) beat Bangladesh 200 (Shakib 63, Mpofu 3-25) by nine runs

Zimbabwe overcame a stubborn Shakib Al Hasan to outlast Bangladesh by nine runs in the opening one-dayer in Mirpur. The margin of victory did not do justice to the Zimbabwe spinners' control for most of the chase, and emphasised Shakib's excellence in retrieving a cause that had seemed out of bounds at one point. He played the defining innings on a day dominated by the bowlers, but his team-mates succumbed to the pressure in a spate of poor shots and run-outs to end their team's dream run, and hand Zimbabwe an upset victory.

In pic: Zimbabwe celebrate after dismissing Tamim Iqbal

Bangladesh were in the middle of a major top-order collapse when Shakib walked out: in under six overs, they had gone from 76 for 1 to 98 for 5, with Ray Price and Prosper Utseya breathing down their necks. When Suhrawadi Shuvo was cleaned up with the score on 115, Bangladesh were pushed right to the edge of the precipice. Shakib, however, knew that the run-rate was under control, and chose to wait for the weaker bowlers to come on.

Displaying the kind of composure that made Michael Bevan famous, he turned things around without ever looking like taking a risk. When Price and Utseya hustled through their overs, he resorted to cautious dabs into the gaps before opening up against Keith Dabengwa who came on as back-up. Shakib used Dabengwa's angle and spin to find the leg-side boundary with a variety of sweeps, looting 13 runs off the 36th over. That assault reduced the equation to 65 from 14 overs and Zimbabwe began to sweat again.

With Mahmudullah holding up the other end, Chigumbura was forced to bring back the lead spinners. Shakib seamlessly shifted back into nurdle-mode, bringing up his 16th half-century in the 41st over, with one of several check-drives to long-off. Zimbabwe eventually broke through in the 43rd, Mahmudullah holing out against Chris Mpofu after adding 54 with Shakib. With the batting Powerplay in place for the last five overs, Mashrafe Mortaza helped Shakib narrow the gap further, biffing a couple of boundaries through the off side. Twenty-three to get off 21 and time for Bangladesh to show they could close things out. Unfortunately for them, there were more twists to follow.

A dreadful mix-up left Mortaza stranded mid-pitch, forcing him to sacrifice his wicket for the team's cause. It did not help; With 15 needed at run-a-ball, Shakib committed his first error of the day, top-edging a scoop into short fine-leg's lap. It was all over in the 49th over when Shafiul Islam perished to the fourth run-out of the innings, leaving Zimbabwe's fielders jumping for joy.

The sad part for Bangladesh was that their errors in the second half came after a very professional job in the first. Once again, they executed the slow left-arm choke they have become dangerously adept at, overcoming a strong opening and a resilient middle-order recovery to dismiss Zimbabwe for 209. Abdur Razzak played the lead role for the home side, prising out four wickets to go past 150 one-day scalps, while the supporting cast tied up things at the other end.

Razzak came on in the 10th over and he promptly made an impact with his variations, after the seamers had wasted the morning's favourable weather conditions. Chamu Chibhabha perished to an ambitious swipe across the line, before Brendan Taylor's back foot was coaxed out of the crease with lovely flight and spin. The track suddenly seemed full of demons, with Razzak getting every other delivery to bite and spit across the right-handers. As is often the case in such circumstances, Elton Chigumbura fell to one of the poorer deliveries, chopping a wide ball onto the stumps.

After Tatenda Taibu's dismissal, Zimbabwe quickly reassessed the innings and Craig Ervine combined with Regis Chakabva in a risk-free repair job. With Razzak out of the attack, survival became easier and both batsmen settled in to work the bowling around. Chakabva swept a couple of leg-stump offerings and Ervine guided a full toss through the covers, all for fours, but otherwise their 65-run stand was characterised by deft placement and smart running.

Mahmudullah eventually broke through with a flighted offbreak, foxing Chakabva into a return catch for 45. By then, Zimbabwe had survived the toughest phase of the innings without losing much ground. They failed to make the most of the platform, though, losing their way towards the end.

Ervine and Utseya failed to cash in on the batting Powerplay, exposing the tail to the spinners. The result was that the last five wickets fell for 25, ending the innings in the 49th over. At that stage it looked like a fighting score. A couple of hours later, it seemed to be more than sufficient, but Shakib was not going to go down without a fight. On the day, though, he could not do enough to deliver the knockout punch.