Zimbabwe defeats Bangladesh

Despite Mehidy Hasan Miraz’s 10-wicket haul and a flicker of hope during the match, Bangladesh fell short as Zimbabwe tasted a long-awaited Test victory after 10 matches.

On just the second ball of the day, Najmul Hossain Shanto committed ‘suicide,’ as the commentators would say. Throwing away his wicket with a poor shot, he didn’t head back to the dressing room. Instead, he sat silently near the dugout in full gear. When the TV camera caught his face, it showed a man shrouded in disappointment. Five wickets were still in hand, but it seemed the Bangladesh captain already sensed the inevitable.

Though the game saw a late surge of resistance, the result didn’t change. Mehidy Hasan Miraz once again lit up the match by taking another five-wicket haul in the second innings, mirroring his performance in the first. But his valiant effort wasn’t enough. Zimbabwe completed the win in just four days, defeating the hosts in Sylhet.

With a narrow 3-wicket win at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium, Zimbabwe now leads the series.

For Bangladesh, the loss was bitterly disappointing; for Zimbabwe, it was a moment of pure joy. The visitors registered their first Test win in over four years. Their last victory came in March 2021, when they defeated Afghanistan in Abu Dhabi.

It was also Zimbabwe’s first win over Bangladesh in six and a half years. Their previous triumph came in November 2018 — also in Sylhet — where they secured a 151-run win. In the three Tests between the two sides since then, Zimbabwe never really stood a chance.

But this time, they didn’t just fight back — they dominated right from Day 1. Bangladesh, who ended Day 3 at 194 for 4, could only add 65 more runs the next morning. Chasing 174, Zimbabwe broke their own record for the highest successful run chase in Test cricket. Their previous best was 162 against Pakistan in 1998. This marks Zimbabwe’s sixth successful run chase in Test history.

For Bangladesh, it was yet another miserable home defeat. With this loss, Shanto’s side has now lost six consecutive home Tests, including two whitewashes last year.

Wednesday began with overcast skies in Sylhet. Due to overnight rain, play started 75 minutes late because of a damp outfield.

Blessing Muzarabani started the day with a yorker, which Shanto managed to keep out. But the next ball, a bouncer, wasn’t particularly threatening. Still, Shanto fell into the trap, offering a simple catch at fine leg. Bangladesh immediately found themselves under pressure. Shanto added nothing to his overnight score of 60.

His departure was quickly followed by that of the vice-captain. Miraz, however, launched a counterattack, smashing a four and a six in back-to-back overs off Muzarabani.

But Zimbabwe’s pacer had the last laugh. Miraz edged one outside off and was caught in the slips, giving Muzarabani his third five-wicket haul in Tests. Soon after, Victor Nyauchi removed Taijul Islam, tightening the noose further.

At the other end, Zakir Ali watched wickets tumble around him. He tried to resist with Hasan Mahmud, and the duo stitched together a 35-run stand off 91 balls.

Hasan faced most of the deliveries, with Zakir rotating the strike cleverly and capitalizing on loose balls. He eventually reached his fourth fifty in just his fourth Test — becoming the first Bangladeshi to score 50+ in each of his first four Tests, breaking Zakir Hasan’s earlier record.

But just as hopes started to rise, Hasan perished trying to go big, scoring only 12 from 58 balls. Khaled Ahmed was dismissed first ball soon after.

Zakir turned aggressive with just one wicket in hand, smashing a lone six off Richard Ngarava. But in pursuit of another big hit, he fell to Muzarabani after scoring 58. With 3 wickets in the first innings and 6 in the second, Muzarabani reached 50 wickets in just 11 Tests — the joint fastest for Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe came out to bat just for one over before the lunch break and survived it unscathed.

After the break, openers Brian Bennett and Ben Curran launched a counterattack. Their scoring rate resembled an ODI match, and they reached a 50-run partnership by the 12th over.

This was their second 50-run opening stand of the match, something Zimbabwe hadn’t achieved in a Test since 2011 — also against Bangladesh — when Vusi Sibanda and Tino Mawoyo did it.

Miraz finally broke the stand by removing Curran for 47 off 75 balls, ending the opening partnership at 95.

Bennett then reached his second fifty of the match in 65 balls. Soon after, Taijul dismissed Nick Welch.

The drama peaked in the final session. Mehidy’s sharp spin caught Sean Williams by surprise, dismissing him for 9. In his next over, Bennett miscued a big shot and was caught at long-on after a composed 54 with 7 boundaries and a six.

Then, Craig Ervine fell to a sharp caught-behind decision by Taijul, but credit again went to Miraz for convincing Shanto to take a successful review.

Miraz struck again by bowling Nyasha Mayavo, and with 4 wickets in hand, Zimbabwe still needed 29 runs.

Enter Wellington Masakadza. The No. 8 batter launched a counterattack, smashing a four and a six off Taijul in consecutive overs. But Miraz had the final say, bowling him out to complete his five-wicket haul.

Bangladesh still had a glimmer of hope with 13 runs to defend. Rain and bad light threatened to interrupt, but play continued under floodlights.

Ngarava and Madhavere kept their cool. Ngarava hit a boundary over long-on off Miraz, and Madhavere followed with a slog sweep to the fence. Finally, a reverse sweep for four off Miraz sealed Zimbabwe’s highest-ever run chase in Tests.

Though Bangladesh lost, Mehidy Hasan Miraz walked away with multiple personal milestones. This was his third 10-wicket haul in Tests — more than any other Bangladeshi, surpassing Shakib Al Hasan and Taijul Islam, who both have two each.

He also became only the third Bangladeshi to reach 200 Test wickets, after Shakib and Taijul, achieving the feat in his 52nd Test.

But such milestones hardly offer consolation after a defeat like this.