Bangladesh keen to continue winning spree against Zimbabwe

Dhaka, 9 May - Bangladesh are determined to keep their winning spree against Zimbabwe as they take on the East African nation for the fourth T20 game at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium tomorrow. 

The match starts at 6 PM and will be aired live on T-sports and Gazi Television. 

Bangladesh have already confirmed the five-match series by winning the first three matches in a row in Chattogram.

The hosts will be further bolstered by the return of ace allrounder Shakib Al 
Hasan and pacer Mustafizur Rahman who have been in great form of late. Soumya 
Sarkar was also included for the last two matches along with the duo but he 
came back in the team after recovering from the injury. 

Despite their poor batting show, Bangladesh clinched the series almost 
comfortably, which is a testament that Zimbabwe are no match for them at 
least. 

But Bangladesh fast bowler Taskin Ahmed still refused to be relaxed ahead of 
the clash in the fourth game. According to him, a win against Zimbabwe won't 
give them any credit but a defeat would leave them in an embarrassing 
situation. 

"We can't afford to be relaxed. If we win, we won't get any credit, but if we 
lose, everyone will say that lost to Zimbabwe and they will criticize us," 
Taskin said in a pre-match conference today. 

Taskin said their main goal is to prepare them for the T20 World Cup.

"Our main focus is the World Cup. Our job is to try our best wherever we 
play. But you have to understand many things like-- conditions, opposition, 
who I am playing against, where I am playing-- are out of our control. We as 
players give our best wherever we play. Even in the DPL, when we play, we try 
to play well.

"The main goal is the World Cup. If we can improve at least by five percent, 
it will be huge for us. We have to start well. Everyone is focused on how we 
can play well in the World Cup. With this goal, we are training hard."

But when the series is seen as the preparation platform for the T20 World 
Cup, question raised how Bangladesh can be benefitted by playing against a 
weak opponent like Zimbabwe.

Moreover, Bangladesh's batting approach was also poor, considering the modern 
T20 game. Even against the mediocre bowling of Zimbabwe, they failed to boast 
a good strike rate. 

"Condition matters as far as T20 cricket is concerned. Bangladesh's pitches 
are not such that you will come into the crease and will hit the bowlers from 
the first ball. Our pitch is not high-scoring ground. But we are training 
hard to improve in every aspect," Taskin said.

Bangladesh won the first game by eight wickets and then registered a six-
wicket victory in the second game. In the third game, they were put into bat 
first and piled up 165-8 but defended it well by restricting Zimbabwe to 156-
9 for a nine-run victory.

In all three matches, Taskin played a vital role in helping the side win the 
game with his economical bowling effort. Taskin grabbed six wickets in those 
three matches and never conceded runs more than 21 in four over in any match.

The victory in the third match was Bangladesh's 16th win against Zimbabwe in 
23 encounters in T20 format. They have lost just seven matches against the 
visitors.

Line Ups:

Bangladesh: Najmul Hossain Shanto (Captain), Liton Das, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, 
Towhid Hridoy, Shakib Al Hasan, Soumya Sarkar, Mahmudullah Riyad, Jaker Ali 
Anik, Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Tanvir 
Islam, Mustafizur Rahman and Mohammad Saifuddin

Zimbabwe: Sikandar Raza (captain), Faraz Akram, Biran Bennett, Ryan Burl, 
Johnathan Campbell, Craig Ervine, Joylord Gumbie, Luke Jongwe, Clive Madande, 
Tadiwanashe Marumani, Wellington Masakadza, Blessing Muzarabani, Ainsley 
Ndlovu, Richard Ngarava and Sean Williams.