There seems to be no solution in sight for the Zimbabwe cricket team against Bangladesh spinners.
By our staff
The two teams clash in the second of the five-match One Day International (ODI) series at Chittagong this morning.
Zimbabwe succumbed to a 87-run loss at the same venue on Friday and it was none other than the Bangladeshi spinners that handed the hosts a fourth successive victory over the southern African tourists.
A month into the tour, it can now be confirmed that Stephen Mangongo’s men have no answer to Bangladesh’s spin threat and it would take something extra special for Zimbabwe to win a match in Bangladesh.
In the four matches played to date, three of which were Tests, Zimbabwe has conceded 57 of a possible 70 wickets to spin bowling, an astonishing 81,4%, a figure that may swell with four games left in the tour.
It is in the batting department that Mangongo needs to pull a masterstroke to ensure his team, short in confidence, chokes up a morale boosting win in Bangladesh today.
Brendan Taylor (54) was the country’s top scorer in the first ODI followed by Hamilton Masakadza (42) — the country’s only in-form batsman thus far — while the rest managed scores below 15 to complete a sorry-looking scorecard.
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Regis Chakabva, who had a memorable Test series with the bat, could only manage nine runs batting at number five while Captain Elton Chigumbura (15) and debutant Solomon Mire (11) completed a weak middle order link.
Today’s encounter could see Sibanda sacrificed for Craig Ervine and Chakabva moved up the order, while Sikandar Raza Butt and Masakadza are likely going to retain the opening partnership.
While Bangladeshi spinners have flourished, their Zimbabwean counterparts — starring John Nyumbu and Tafadzwa Kamungozi — have trudged on without much success as the fast bowlers have given the team some hope.
