Pacers Taskin Ahmed and Mustafizur Rahman helped Bangladesh to a flying start, picking up four crucial wickets inside the Powerplay in their T20 World Cup Super 12 clash against Zimbabwe at the Gabba in Brisbane on Sunday. 

Slow scoring rate, lack of firepower and inability to convert fifties into centuries once again cost Bangladesh as the Tigers posted a below-par total in the final and third ODI against Zimbabwe at the Harare Sports Club today.

In their landmark 400th ODI, Bangladesh were asked to bat by hosts Zimbabwe at the Harare Sports Club today. 

Before the ongoing Zimbabwe tour, Bangladesh were flying high in the ODI format, with series wins away to South Africa and West Indies. But suddenly, after two successive defeats against a side ranked eight places below in space of just three days, the Tigers now seem to be in a disarray in their most preferred format. 

Since debuting on the international stage in 2013 through an ODI against Bangladesh in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe all-rounder Sikandar Raza has demonstrated his fighting prowess, on and off the field, time and again. The 36-year-old, who is enjoying a phenomenal run of form of late, keeps scaling greater heights with each passing game at an age when most good quality cricketers go into decline. Raza shared his views about his and side's game, also how he views the current Bangladesh team and more, in an interview with The Daily Star's Ekush Tapader, the excerpts of which are as follows:

Sikandar Raza's splendid second consecutive hundred, along with skipper Regis Chakabva's maiden ODI ton, led Zimbabwe to a five-wicket victory against Bangladesh in the second ODI in Harare yesterday, thereby sealing the three-match ODI series with a game in hand. It was the hosts' first ODI series win against Bangladesh after nine years.

Batter Mohammad Naim and pacer Ebadot Hossain will be joining Bangladesh team in Harare for the final ODI against Zimbabwe, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) confirmed today. 

How many times did sloppy fielding cost Bangladesh a game? The number is definitely more than a handful. And once again, the five-wicket loss to Zimbabwe in the three-match ODI series opener at the Harare Sports Club yesterday was mostly due to a lacklustre display from Bangladesh’s fielders, at least according to Bangladesh skipper Tamim Iqbal.

Bangladesh team director Khaled Mahmud Sujon slammed the cricketers, saying that no one from the Tigers’ side even made an effort to win the final T20I against Zimbabwe in Harare yesterday. 

Mosaddek Hossain, Bangladesh skipper for the third and series-deciding T20I against Zimbabwe, mentioned that one over from Nasum Ahmed made the difference at the Harare Sports Club yesterday.

Although there was little at stake for Bangladesh in the three-match T20I series against Zimbabwe, there were keen eyes on the performance from the new-look squad led by new skipper Nurul Hasan Sohan.

Bangladesh left-arm spinner Nasum Ahmed was taken for 34 runs in an over by Zimbabwe batter Ryan Burl during their third and series-deciding T20I at the Harare Sports Club today. 

It was a one-man show from Mosaddek Hossain as the Bangladesh off-spinner restricted Zimbabwe to 135 for 8 in the second T20I in Harare yesterday.

Liton Das became the sixth Bangladeshi to score 1000 runs in T20I during the first of the three-match T20I against Zimbabwe on Saturday.

Zimbabwe batters scored some quick runs in the middle and death overs as the hosts posted a record total in Harare against Bangladesh in the first T20I of the three-match series today. 

Bangladesh ODI skipper Tamim Iqbal opined that people were talking too much about the ages of cricketers in the national team, saying only the best players make it into the national squad and playing eleven.

“Calculative cricket” was the buzzword yesterday as members of the national team geared up for the upcoming Zimbabwe T20I series.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) arranged a get-together and lunch for cricketers at a city hotel today and, although members of the team management downplayed the significance of the ‘special’ lunch ahead of the Tigers’ tour of Zimbabwe, scraping past the surface the motive may have been to communicate some issues to the senior stars who might have been left a bit disappointed with the BCB’s refurbishment of the T20I line-up for the upcoming T20I series.

Bangladesh wicketkeeper-batter Nurul Hasan Sohan said that he is up for the challenge of leading the side in T20Is in the upcoming tour of Zimbabwe later this month. 

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has named Nurul Hasan Sohan the captain for the upcoming T20I series against Zimbabwe later this month.