adminSYLHET. — Records tumbled here yesterday as Liton Das and Tamim Iqbal put Zimbabwe to the sword with an opening stand of 292, Bangladesh’s highest partnership for any wicket in ODIs.
The hosts won the match by 123 runs (D/L method) to complete a 3-0 series whitewash.
Both men reached their second hundreds of the series, with Das soaring on to break the record for the highest individual innings for Bangladesh in an ODI — a record set by Iqbal in the previous match.
Bangladesh’s batsmen hit an incredible 24 fours and 14 sixes to reach 322 for 3 in just 43 overs, equalling the team record for their highest score against Zimbabwe in an ODI.
As a result of the rain delay late in Bangladesh’s innings, which knocked seven overs out of their innings, Zimbabwe’s target was readjusted upwards to a mountainous 342.
While Iqbal mixed watchful accumulation with brutal striking, Das found his groove with a more silken touch even when he was lifting the ball over the boundary.
Das also rode some very good luck: he might have been dismissed lbw when he had just 54 to his name, had Zimbabwe used the review available to them, and he was also dropped three times in the outfield.
He made them pay for the errors.
When shine remained on the new ball Zimbabwe’s opening bowlers got the odd delivery past the bat, but it quickly became apparent that the pitch would play flat and true this afternoon.
Timing and placement were all that was necessary for Bangladesh to cruise to 53 in the Powerplay without a shot in anger.
Whenever Zimbabwe started to string a tight over or two together, one or the other of the openers would find a way to puncture the pressure bubble.
Usually, it was Das who reasserted dominance, and he wasn’t averse to resorting to unorthodox shots to do so, reverse sweeping the spinners more than once.
With Das ticking past fifty in the 16th over, the opening stand moved inexorably beyond 100. Iqbal raised a fifty of his own five overs later, and took it upon himself to deflate Zimbabwe after a spell of just 20 runs in 5.5 overs, stepping out to swat Wesley Madhevere over wide long on for his second six.
Having tootled merrily beyond 150, the next milestone to tick off was that of Bangladesh’s highest opening stand in ODIs, and that arrived courtesy Iqbal’s towering mow over deep midwicket off Williams in an over that leaked 17 runs.
Das both raised his second hundred of the series (and third overall in ODIs) and moved past 1 000 runs in this format with an elegant late cut in the same over. Bangladesh’s openers were in sight of another record — Bangladesh’s highest ODI stand for any wicket — when the weather closed in in the 34th over and the players were forced from the field shortly after 4.00pm when the skies opened.
After a delay of more than two and a half hours, and with seven overs docked from the innings, play was eventually able to get underway again but Zimbabwe’s discipline with the ball — they had bowled only one extra in the first 34 overs, and that too only a leg bye — seemed to have deserted them.
Taylor immediately dropped a difficult chance at third man, Tiripano let slip with a wide, and Carl Mumba then had Das caught at short fine leg off a high full toss that was called a no-ball.
The break did nothing to temper Das’ timing, or Iqbal’s for that matter, and they marched steadily onwards.
It was sixes, rather than water, that came raining down in Sylhet. Raza dropped Das again, fluffing a regulation chance at long on, and the reintroduction of Charlton Tshuma to the attack brought 21 runs in an over. — Cricinfo.
Online Reporter