DHAKA: Abdur Razzak grabbed four wickets as Bangladesh thrashed Zimbabwe by 65 runs in the third one-day international on Monday to take a 2-1 lead in the five-match series.
The left-arm spinner, who claimed a hat-trick in the previous game on Friday, finished with 4-14 to help the hosts bundle out Zimbabwe for 181 in 48.1 overs at the Sher-e-Bangla stadium in Dhaka. Bangladesh had earlier made 246-7 after skipper Shakib Al Hasan top-scored with 73 and put on 116 for the fifth wicket with Mushfiqur Rahim (63) after the hosts were reduced to 71-4. Prosper Utseya, standing in as Zimbabwe captain for the injured Elton Chigumbura, scored a fighting 67 after taking four wickets for 38 runs from 10 overs.
The last two matches will by played in Chittagong on Friday and Sunday. Monday’s match was originally scheduled to be held under lights, but was changed to a day game because the stadium’s new floodlights were not functional.
The venue is due to host six World Cup matches in February-March, including two quarter-finals. Zimbabwe suffered early blows in their run chase, losing three top-order batsmen inside the first 10 overs. Shakib introduced spin in the fourth over and the move yielded immediate results as Razzak removed opener Chamu Chibhabha with his fourth delivery.
Razzak had Hamilton Masakadza stumped by Rahim, before dismissing the other opener, Brendan Taylor, for 15. Utseya tried to repair the damage with his 101-ball knock but ran out of partners in the end.
