As Bangladesh skipper Mushfiqur Rahim said “a win is a win” no matter how it comes and he was pretty right as despite putting a horrid show with the bat in the second innings, the hosts managed to edge past Zimbabwe in the first Test.
Bangladesh is now leading the three-match series 1-0 by winning the opener inside three days by three wickets. The Mushfiqur Rahim-captained side, however, was far from its best and at one stage looked to give away the contest.
Chasing a mere 101 to win, the Tigers were reduced to zero for three, as Tamim Iqbal, Shamsur Rahman and Mominul Haque went for a duck. Elton Chigumbura and Tinashe Panyangara ripped through the Bangladesh batting order but failed to deliver the final punch.
A narrow 14-run lead in the first innings played an instrumental role in Bangladesh’s win. The new-ball burst from Zimbabwe, however, ensured Bangladesh join a club, which don’t want to be part of.
Bangladesh became only the third team after Australia and India to lose top three wickets for a duck. The Indian team were succumbed to a similar result 62 years ago in Leeds, while Australia found the books in 1888.
“We are not where we want to be but the boys played very well and a win is a win,” Rahim said. “There’s a lot of areas to improve on. Our batting and bowling both.”
“Taijul has been great for the last couple of matches, Shakib also bowled really well and Jubair too,” he added. “It’s a total team and all-round effort. To win Tests you have to play big innings to make it count.”
Meanwhile, despite coming at a touching distance of a dramatic win, Zimbabwe skipper Brendan Taylor insisted there is a lot of work to be done to improve their performance in whites.
“Credit to Bangladesh, we were mentally weak with the bat, we can’t win Tests like that,” Taylor said. “Our bowlers showed a lot of character. You have to have the mindset that you can win from any situation. We started well and had them three down but dropped two chances.”
“Mushy held his end and marshalled his troops very well. Long knocks are our major worry, 20s and 30s won’t help. They played better cricket and we’ll come back stronger in the second Test. There was pace and bounce so it was fun. The groundsmen made a good wicket.”
