District Correspondent, Sylhet: In the first match of the two-match Test series at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium, Bangladesh, trailing by 82 runs after the second day, started their second innings, posting 57 runs on the board at the loss of opener Sadman Islam in 13 overs. Despite Zimbabwe dominating most of the day, Bangladesh claimed the final session to keep their hopes alive.
Bangladesh lost Sadman early in their second innings. Sadman departed to the pavilion, edging a delivery outside the off-stump from Blessing Muzarabani.
Earlier, in the first innings of the Sylhet Test, the visiting Zimbabwe team scored 273 runs, gaining a lead of 82 runs over Bangladesh.
On Monday (April 21), Zimbabwe resumed batting on the second day of the first Test match in the series. At the end of the first day, Zimbabwe had posted 67 runs in 10 overs without losing a wicket. Despite using four regular bowlers, Bangladesh failed to claim a single wicket on Day 1. Bangladesh made their first breakthrough early on Day 2 when Nahid Rana struck. Following this, Bangladesh bowlers continued to claim wickets at regular intervals.
Although Zimbabwe lost six wickets before reaching 200 runs, their lower-order batters displayed remarkable resistance. Nyasha Mayavo, batting at number seven, scored 35 runs off 54 balls. Richard Ngarava, coming in at number nine, remained unbeaten with 28 runs, supported well by Blessing Muzarabani, who added 17 runs. This strong lower-order effort gave Zimbabwe a significant lead.
However, the efforts of Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Nahid Rana were instrumental in restricting Zimbabwe’s scoring. Miraz took five wickets, conceding 52 runs, while Nahid Rana’s pace proved too much for the visitors, earning him three wickets despite heavy resistance. Zimbabwe’s Sean Williams scored the highest for his side with 59 runs, while Bennett contributed 35.
