With the Sylhet Test finely poised after Day 3, Zimbabwe is starting to map out a winning strategy. While it’s tough to clearly favor one side at this stage, pacer Blessing Muzarabani believes Zimbabwe holds the upper hand. He’s aiming for a fourth-innings target of under 200 to give his side the best shot at winning.
At stumps on Day 3, Bangladesh holds a 112-run lead with six wickets in hand.
Chasing in the fourth innings is never easy, regardless of the conditions. If Bangladesh can build a couple more solid partnerships, they could push the target beyond Zimbabwe’s reach. On the flip side, if Zimbabwe strikes early on the fourth morning, Bangladesh could find themselves in real trouble.
Overall, the match remains delicately balanced. Muzarabani acknowledged the way Bangladesh clawed back into the contest after trailing by 82 runs in the first innings but maintained that his side still has the edge.
“It was a tough day for us. Bangladesh fought well. But overall, it wasn’t a bad day,” Muzarabani said.
“We are definitely still in the game. But that’s the nature of Test cricket — you play it day by day. There’s still a lot of time left in this match. We believe we’re ahead at this point.”
Looking ahead, Zimbabwe seems to have a target score in mind that would ease their chase, but Muzarabani insists their focus should remain on the task at hand.
“It would be best if we can keep the target under 200,” he said. “But we shouldn’t focus too much on the runs. What we should focus on is taking wickets. The remaining Bangladesh wickets won’t come easily. We’ll need to show more discipline with the ball.”
