Bangladesh elect to bowl first against Zimbabwe in T20I opener

BANGLADESH won the toss and elected to bowl first against Zimbabwe in the opening match of the three-match Twenty20 International series at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo on Wednesday.

Stand-in Bangladesh captain Towhid Hridoy said the decision was influenced by the conditions, with the tourists hoping to take advantage of any early moisture in the pitch during the daytime encounter.

Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza revealed that the Chevrons would also have preferred to bat first, expressing confidence that the surface would offer good batting conditions before slowing down later in the match.

He adds that’s how it differs from Harare, which always has pace and bounce. The lesson he learned from the last World Cup was scoring big runs while batting first. The challenge here, he says, will be handling balls at the stumps and hitting down the ground.

Zimbabwe head into the contest having lost the toss in four consecutive matches, but will be banking on their top order to post a competitive total before their bowling attack attempts to defend it.

History at Queens Sports Club suggests batting first could offer a slight advantage. Teams setting a target at the Bulawayo venue have an estimated 45 to 50 percent chance of winning, with the average first-innings score in T20 Internationals ranging between 147 and 155 runs. The average second-innings total drops to between 131 and 135 runs, indicating the pitch tends to become slower as the match progresses.

Conditions are expected to remain favourable throughout the day, with clear blue skies over Bulawayo providing ideal weather for cricket.

The match got underway at 12.30pm, with Zimbabwe seeking a winning start to the series against a Bangladesh side looking to bounce back after losing the recent Test and One-Day International series to the Chevrons.