BAN vs ZIM, 5th ODI, Tri-series 2018, Preview: Zimbabwe in a must-win situation against upbeat Bangladesh

Zimbabwe will play their final game of the league stages on Tuesday against Bangladesh at Shere Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka. The visitors are in a must-win situation after losing to Sri Lanka in their last game by five wickets. A win alone wouldn’t ensure them a place in the final as they will have to pray then that the hosts beat the team from island nation or don’t lose to them by a higher margin. However, all the possibilities will come into the picture if at all they put in a complete performance to gun down the home side.

Bangladesh, on the other hand, are sitting pretty at the top of the points table with two bonus-point victories and have already qualified for the finals. They rolled over Zimbabwe the last time they met in the opening game of the series by eight wickets and will know the team in red has improved enormously since then. The Tigers would be eager to continue their winning run at home and again dominate them.

Despite all the matches being played at the same venue, the curator has so far dished out some magnificent tracks in this tri-series. While a couple of games have been high-scoring, even the last game which was a low-scoring one was close enough. Zimbabwe almost had Sri Lanka on their knees while defending a meagre total of 198 runs. Another belter of a track is expected on Tuesday as both the teams brace up for a high-octane clash.

What they said?

Tamim Iqbal was not disappointed to have missed out on a couple of centuries in the first two games of the series and was satisfied that he was not throwing away his wicket. “Well, that was not unlucky actually. In the second match, I really started a bit slow in the beginning. But the most satisfying thing about the second match is that I did not throw my wicket,” he said ahead of the encounter against Zimbabwe.

Graeme Cremer has realised that one of Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka needs to beat Bangladesh to qualify for the finals. “It makes things interesting now. One of us has to beat Bangladesh to get into the final. It is quite nice for the viewers. I just hope it is us, come final day,” he said during the post-match presentation on Sunday.

Playing Combination

Bangladesh

Bangladesh have fared extremely well in this first round of the series so far. They have dominated both the oppositions so far and will guard against making any changes to the winning combination. The opening combination of Tamim Iqbal and Anamul Haque has done well so far but they would love for the latter to score big now. The move to promote Shakib Al Hasan to number 3 has worked perfectly for them with Mushfiqur Rahim at 4. The bowling attack led by the skipper Mashrafe Mortaza himself is also looking up for the task.

Probable XI: Tamim Iqbal, Anamul Haque, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim(wk), Mahmudullah, Sabbir Rahman, Mashrafe Mortaza(c), Nasir Hossain, Mohammad Saifuddin, Rubel Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman

Zimbabwe

The team has had a roller coaster ride so far and has to put a complete performance to beat the strong home side. Their team doesn’t need any changes though and the captain Graeme Cremer would be only demanding some consistency from his boys. Brendan Taylor needs to step up now as he is due for a big knock after returning to play for his country. Even the likes of Sikandar Raza and Hamilton Masakadza have to play at their best for Zimbabwe to have any chance of beating the hosts.

Probable XI: Hamilton Masakadza, Solomon Mire, Craig Ervine, Brendan Taylor(wk), Sikandar Raza, Malcolm Waller, Peter Moor, Graeme Cremer(c), Kyle Jarvis, Tendai Chatara, Blessing Muzarabani

Head to Head record

Overall: Played – 68 Bangladesh – 48 Zimbabwe – 20

Focus will be on

Tamim Iqbal

The left-handed opener of Bangladesh has always provided his team with a brilliant start. But Tamim has been guilty of throwing away bright starts. In both the games in the ongoing tri-series, he has missed out on a well-deserved hundred. Against Sri Lanka, he was set to cross the triple figure mark but was dismissed to a harmless delivery which might have turned the game. He needs to be cautious and has to put a price on his wicket this time around.

Soloman Mire

The exciting youngster has a history of playing fearlessly. But the approach hasn’t worked for him so far in this series. Apart from a brief cameo against Sri Lanka in the first bout, he has failed in the other two matches. His partner, on the other hand, has played decently. Mire has to support him at the top if Zimbabwe needs to upset the hosts big time on the day. His aggressive knock could be the deciding factor in the match.

Stat Attack

9-  Bangladesh defeated Zimbabwe in their last 9 ODI meetings.

14- Sikandar Raza needs 14 more runs to complete 2000 runs in ODI cricket.

Broadcast details

TV: Star Sports

Online: Hotstar

Here is CricTracker’s Match Prediction