Match Thread: 2nd ODI: Zimbabwe v Bangladesh at Harare Aug 14, 2011 (09:30 local | 07:30 GMT | 13:30 BDT)

[Banglaguy]

Zimbabwe look to sustain momentum

Match facts
August 14, Harare
Start time 0930 (0730 GMT 1300 IST)


Brian Vitori has enjoyed a dream run so far - can he and Zimbabwe sustain their success story? © Associated Press
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Players/Officials: Mahmudullah | Brian Vitori
Matches: Zimbabwe v Bangladesh at Harare
Series/Tournaments: Bangladesh tour of Zimbabwe
Teams: Bangladesh | Zimbabwe
The Big Picture

Zimbabwe's star is rising with every move they make in this series and they will not want to do anything to disrupt its path. Near-flawless performances with the ball, and equally accomplished showings with the bat - in the one-off Test and the first ODI against Bangladesh - have helped them sell their story of success.

If there is a fault, it's that they have lost wickets in clusters, both in the Test match and with Rubel Hossain's late strikes in the first ODI. Their middle order has sometimes struggled to string partnerships together. It hasn't had any impact on their results yet, but there is always a danger that it could, and they will want to ensure they can form partnerships in that area as they do at the top.

The bowling has asked questions of the opposition on almost every occasion, with the seamers outshining the spinners. Ray Price and Prosper Utseya may want to challenge their quicks with a wicket-taking performance of their own, especially after they, together with Elton Chigumbura, were guilty of allowing runs to flow freely in the first match.

Bangladesh have failed to adjust to conditions and some of the players have even blamed the environment for their poor showing. Their batsmen have lacked application, allowed themselves to be bullied by the bowlers and, at times, displayed a range of shots that would not be out of place in a club match. The openers - Tamim Iqbal in particular - are due a solid stint at the crease.

There is an over reliance on Shakib Al Hasan to be the major contributor, with bat and ball, and while he has done a fine job, he cannot be expected to do it alone. Mushfiqur Rahim offered him support in the first one-dayer but the rest of the batting line-up have to start contributing.

Consistency is also required from their bowlers, who have managed to get some good deliveries in but have not done so with regularity. Hossain showed promising signs in his second spell in the first one-dayer and Bangladesh will have to learn to not just depend on their left-arm spinners for breakthroughs but trust some of the other bowlers to do the job as well.

Form guide (most recent first)

Zimbabwe WWLLL
Bangladesh LLLLL
In the spotlight

He is the man with the Midas touch and all eyes will be on Brian Vitori to see if he will ever put a foot wrong. After a five-wicket haul on ODI debut, to go with the five wickets he claimed in the one-off Test, Vitori is enjoying a magical introduction to international cricket. He has managed to achieve swing, even on a pitch that looks like it has nothing in it for bowlers, and has bowled a tricky length, using the short ball well. In the first ODI, he didn't give the Bangladesh batsmen any width, and tight lines meant he was well rewarded.

As an experienced player in Bangladesh's middle order Mahmudullah will need to step up and show his worth after a quiet outing in the Test and the first ODI. There are expectations from him, when he comes in to bat, especially if he is partnering Shakib or Mohammad Ashraful but he has not managed to go past 13 so far. He is not to blame for his under-utilisation with the ball, and has looked competent every time it has been handed to him, but in order to start playing his part, he will have to do a little more in the rest of the series.

Team news

There's no need for Zimbabwe to change anything after their commanding performance in the first ODI and they are likely to go in with the same XI. Chigumbura is the one man who may be nervous of keeping his place, in case the selectors decide to give allrounder Keegan Meth a chance.
Zimbabwe (probable): Brendan Taylor (capt), Vusi Sibanda, Tatenda Taibu (wk), Prosper Utseya, Craig Ervine, Malcolm Waller, Elton Chigumbura/Keegan Meth, Forster Mutizwa, Ray Price, Brian Vitori, Chris Mpofu.

Bangladesh need to find an alternative to left-arm spin and Abdur Razzak may pay the price for an indifferent performance, giving 19-year-old offspinner Nasir Hossain a chance to make his international debut. Although their batting remains the major concern, it's unlikely that Tamim will get the axe, with Stuart Law reckoning a big knock is just around the corner for him. Junaid Siddique could come in for Imrul Kayes.

Bangladesh (probable): 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Imrul Kayes/Junaid Siddique, 3 Shahriar Nafees, 4 Mohammad Ashraful, 5 Mahmudullah, 6 Shakib Al Hasan, 7 Mushfiqur Rahim, 8 Suhrawadi Shuvo, 9 Nasir Hossain, 10 Shafiul Islam, 11 Rubel Hossain.

Pitch and conditions
Harare can be expected to provide consistent conditions throughout the series, which are traditionally good for batting. With temperatures rising as spring approaches, the sun bakes and flattens the pitch. There will be something in it for the bowlers, but only if they are willing to work hard and hit the deck. Spinners will get some assistance and there is also a hint of reverse-swing but the ground remains true to its reputation of favouring the chasing team.

Stats and trivia

Bangladesh are almost twice as likely to beat Zimbabwe as they are to record a victory over any other team, according to their historical win/loss ratio. They have won 53.8% of games against Zimbabwe, while managing 27% against the other teams.
Rubel Hossain has taken three four-wicket hauls in his 29-match career. Two of them have been at home in Dhaka and the third was in the first ODI in Harare.
Hamilton Masakadza has played against Bangladesh 35 times in ten years and has a lower average against them, of 22.47, than his overall average of 27.21. His bowling average is substantially better at 27.08, compared to 33.18 overall.
Quotes
We have some things to work on in our training session. We want to face a lot more spin in the nets and get the ball to reverse a little.
Brendan Taylor talks about the fine tuning he would like his team to address

We should have applied ourselves better in the first match. Now our top-order batsmen have to put on a show in the next one.
Shakib al Hasan laments Bangladesh's batting woes.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/zimbabwe...ry/527276.html

[Rabz]

I'm starting to care less and less.

[Night_wolf]

Originally Posted by WarWolf
Sorry to disagree. He is a terrific fielder, probably the best in the current squad.

right

[Ali Ahmad]

It wont be shocking to see bangladesh losing the series, Zimbabwe have come back as a strong team!
Prediction bangladesh to lose 4-1, but would be ok if they lose 3-2 respectively. Shakib is unforunate to be in a team without any class. he would be valuable assets to teams like Australi, South Africa and Sri Lanka as 6th position batsmem.

[abu2abu]

The last time BD played Zim (in an ODI series I hasten to add), the zim players struggled against razzak's spin. It looks like on this basis, the BD think tank decided to pick razzak for the tests, even though every BD fan knows that Raj has struggled in tests so far.

But low and behold, it seems the Zimbabweans have figured out how to play him (or at least neutralise his threat in home conditions). And again in the 1st ODI, he's deal with with relative ease by the Zimbabweans.

It was a nice idea, from Shakib & co, but let's face it, it's not worked. Time to do what all other BCers have been saying for a while now, give Raj a rest.

My preference would be to go for Nazmul. Does anyone know if he's still with the squad. I think I heard he's gone back to BD, but I might be imagining that...

[Banglaguy]

Originally Posted by abu2abu

My preference would be to go for Nazmul. Does anyone know if he's still with the squad. I think I heard he's gone back to BD, but I might be imagining that...

Nazmul is in the sqaud, as Robiul has gone back home.

[Night_wolf]

^hey banglaguy vitori was the 2nd bowler to get 5 wickets in debut vs BD...do you know who was the 1st bowler to achieve this?..This achievement came in the worst defeat of BD history..take a guess

[Banglaguy]

Originally Posted by Night_wolf
^hey banglaguy vitori was the 2nd bowler to get 5 wickets in debut vs BD...do you know who was the 1st bowler to achieve this?..This achievement came in the worst defeat of BD history..take a guess

I'm going have a little think. Our worst loss in ODI's came against Pakistan in 2000 right? We lost by 230-odd, and in that I remember there was no five for taken...

If you mean worse, I think maybe that game against Canada in the 2003 world cup, a man called Austin Codrington right? He took 5 for 26-27 can't really remember

[Night_wolf]

^yeah thats right..i was ur age that time...after that day it was eid and it completely ruined my eid

u didn't remembered any of this..u just goggled

[Banglaguy]

^^^ Yeah, I used to follow cricket when I was young, like really young... We lost the match by 60-odd right? These were the days Hanan Sarkar played. . .

[Banglaguy]

I love Trivia, so if you got any more questions for me, I'll take them gleefully

[Isnaad]

You googled Banglaguy

Posted via BC Mobile Edition (Opera Mobile)

[Banglaguy]

Originally Posted by Isnaad
You googled Banglaguy

Posted via BC Mobile Edition (Opera Mobile)

How would I be able to google that? Let me try google ''Best bowling against Bangladesh on debut''... I just did that, and nothing naming Canada came up

[Isnaad]

Googling doesn't necessarily mean searching on Google.

Posted via BC Mobile Edition (Opera Mobile)

[Banglaguy]

Originally Posted by Isnaad
Googling doesn't necessarily mean searching on Google.

Posted via BC Mobile Edition (Opera Mobile)

lol, then what does it mean?

[Tigers_eye]

Originally Posted by Banglaguy
Mahmudullah goes back down again, he doesn't deserve it.

One chance and he is out of favor? Do you know Attapatu?

[Isnaad]

Originally Posted by Banglaguy
lol, then what does it mean?

Searching on the internet. U did some stats-guru search or something! Confess!

Posted via BC Mobile Edition

[nakedzero]

Search's synonym is google now days, LOL and it's a fact!

[Banglaguy]

Originally Posted by Tigers_eye
One chance and he is out of favor? Do you know Attapatu?

The Sri Lankan Captain?

Originally Posted by Isnaad
Searching on the internet. U did some stats-guru search or something! Confess!

Posted via BC Mobile Edition

And no, I did some thinking lol, I thought about BD's losses which were bad, and I traced it back in my head

[firstlane]

so, according to cricinfo we are again playing three specialist spinners! naseer in place of razzak. we also have an off spinner. I really don't understand how an aussie coach let that happen!

[Isnaad]

Originally Posted by nakedzero
Search's synonym is google now days, LOL and it's a fact!

Haha right

Posted via BC Mobile Edition (Opera Mobile)

[WarWolf]

Originally Posted by firstlane
so, according to cricinfo we are again playing three specialist spinners! naseer in place of razzak. we also have an off spinner. I really don't understand how an aussie coach let that happen!

If you cannot let your opening bowler more than 2 overs to bowl then what would you do except taking 3 spinners?

[Night_wolf]

atm playing spinners doesn't look right but playing pacers will do no good either cos our pacers are really out of form..our strengths is spiners thats why they are putting faith in them..nothing to do atm..if ur pacers cant utilize the conditions then play on ur own strength..but how much that will help us i dont know..

i remember shakib made his debut vs zim in 2006 in zim..that series was in the bag already and shakib had no pressure in his 1st int match and he did very well..scored 30*...just like shakib i had high hopes of nasir..lets see what he can do..but he'll find himself in a whole different situation then shakib..lets hope he has the mental toughness that we lack so much

[nycpro96]

Nazmul for Shafiul.

[shakibrulz]

Win the goddamn game or just piss off! I'm really angry at all the losers who don't offer Shak any support when he's down and out.. Sigh.

My XI:
Tamim
Imrul
Junaid
Mahmudullah
Rahim+
Shakib
Nasir
Razzak
Rubel
Shafiul
Nazmul

No Ash, somehow the team always manages to lose when Ash makes some runs, besides he completed the quota of 2 good innings in tests.