Zimbabwe – LLLLW
Bangladesh – WWWWL

**This being last 5 completed matches where as the most recent match is first

Perfect perspective of the series of events

Zimbabwe has had a month of exceptional success.

After winning the T20 World Cup qualification campaign handily, they defeated Bangladesh in their first T20I series. The Harare Sports Club was a great place to party and have fun.

However, attention must now swiftly turn to the ODIs, a format in which the two teams this year are separated by a wide margin. Bangladesh also enters the game against Zimbabwe with a 19-game winning streak. 

This includes the 3-0 victory from the previous year. This series is not a part of the ICC ODI Super League, unlike that one. Tamim Iqbal, however, has made it very obvious that Bangladesh cannot currently afford to treat any series lightly. 

Key players Craig Ervine (hamstring and knee problems) and Sean Williams (granted a break due to personal matters) won’t be available for Zimbabwe. Ervine’s replacement as captain is Regis Chakabva.

Established seamstresses Tendai Chatara and Blessing Muzarabani are also absent.

The new-look ODI squad includes the less experienced Bradley Evans and Victor Nyauchi, who bowled well in the third T20I a few days ago. Along with Wellington Masakadza, Richard Ngarava, and Luke Jongwe will form the pace-bowling assault. Wellington Ngarava will serve as the top spinner. Sikandar Raza, Wesly Madhevere, and Ryan Burl will be largely relied upon by Zimbabwe, which has a bunch of inexperienced batsmen. 

While waiting, Bangladesh will be hoping that having Tamim and Mushfiqur Rahim back in the batting order will help their tour of Zimbabwe go better.

While Tamim would pick three seamers for the early morning starts in Harare, they should anticipate batsmen like Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mosaddek Hossain to thrive.

It would mean Taskin Ahmed, who missed two ODIs in the West Indies, would rejoin the lineup for ODIs. Summary there of, Bangladesh will continue to be on high alert given how courageous Zimbabwe was in the T20Is. 

Eyes on the prize, eyes on this guy

After scoring 34 runs in an over against Bangladesh this week, Ryan Burl emerged as one of cricket’s most talked-about players. Burl contributed to Zimbabwe winning the series 2-1. It was the joint-second most runs scored in a single over in T20Is. Zimbabwe will be hoping he brings some of this confidence into the longer format as they begin a lengthy run of ODI matches against Bangladesh, India, and Australia. He hasn’t had fantastic ODI numbers this year.

Due to a shoulder injury, Taskin Ahmed, Bangladesh’s Player of the Series against South Africa in March, has lost some of his impact. After playing just one ODI in the West Indies and two T20Is in which he went for 88 runs in seven overs, Taskin hasn’t taken a wicket since the South Africa tour.

Taskin should do better, according to Tamim Iqbal, as the Harare Sports Club calls for a three-man pace attack.

The match’s pitch and conditions

During the T20I series earlier this week, the grounds at the Harare Sports Club were extremely conducive to batting, but in ODIs over the past five years, teams batting first have only averaged a meager 225. This most likely is the reason 12 out of 21 teams have lost when batting first is probably the reason. During the series, the weather is meant to be dry. 

The match’s team statuses

Bangladesh

1 Tamim Iqbal (capt), 2 Litton Das, 3 Najmul Hossain Shanto, 4 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 5 Mahmudullah, 6 Mosaddek Hossain, 7 Mehidy Hasan Miraz, 8 Taskin Ahmed, 9 Taijul Islam, 10 Mustafizur Rahman, 11 Shoriful Islam

Zimbabwe

1 Innocent Kaia, 2 Wessly Madhevere, 3 Takudzwanashe Kaitano, 4 Sikandar Raza, 5 Regis Chakabva (capt & wk), 6 Ryan Burl, 7 Milton Shumba, 8 Luke Jongwe, 9 Brad Evans, 10 Wellington Masakadza, 11 Victor Nyauchi