Bangladesh thrashed visiting Zimbabwe by 4 wickets in the first of a four-match Twenty20 international series in Khulna on Friday. Wining toss at the Sheikh Abu Naser Stadium, Zimbabwe chose to bat first and scored 163 runs for 7 wickets in 20 overs. In reply, Bangladesh surpassed the target in 18.4 overs for 6 wickets. Chasing a 164-run target, openers Tamim Iqbal and Soumya Sarkar had a quick start in spite of some mix-ups which ultimately led Soumya run out in the 4th over. Tamim drove a delivery Jongwe towards short fine leg, where Wellington dived to his left and made a smart save. Soumya kept running while Tamim kept watching the ball. Both batsmen found themselves at the keeper`s end and Soumya had to return for 7. 31 runs came from the opening stand off 21 balls. Tamim also could not go far and was caught by Sibanda off Cremer in the 7th over. He scored 29 runs off 24 balls with 3 fours and 1 six. Debutant Shuvagata Hom only added 6 runs before being bowled by Sean Williams. Sabbir Rahman and Mushfiqur Rahim then added 44 runs in the 4th wicket partnership. Sabbir scored 46 off 36 balls with 4 boundaries and 1 six. Rahim added 26 runs off 19 balls hitting 4 boundaries while Shakib Al Hasan was unbeaten on 20. Debutant Nurul Hasan was not out for 7. Earlier, Zimbabwe openers Vusi Sibanda and Hamilton Masakadza rendered a solid start and added 101 runs in 12 overs after their skipper Elton Chigumbura won the toss and elected to bat first. Sibanda scored 46 runs off 39 balls with 4 fours and 2 sixes before being caught by Tamim Iqbal off Shakib Al Hasan. Malcolm Waller then joined with Masakadza and they added 26 runs off just 16 balls. However, Waller (14) had to walk back to pavilion after a quick run-out from wicketkeeper Nurul Hasan off a throw from Sabbir. Another brilliant throw from Nurul Hasan left Masakadza run-out. He scored 79 runs off 53 balls hitting 9 fours and 2 sixes. Pacer Mustafizur Rahman then bowled Chigumbura (3) and Luke Jongwe (0) in first two deliveries of the 19th over. Mustafizur finished his 4 overs with 2 wickets for 18 while Al-Amin Hossain got 2 more for 24 and Shakib Al Hasan bagged one for 45. Bangladesh handed debuts to Shuvagata Hom and Nurul Hasan in the match while Soumya Sarkar and Shakib Al Hasan were back in place of Anamul Haque and Nasir Hossain. This was Bangladesh`s fourth T20 win against Zimbabwe out of total six matches they played against each others. With the win, Bangladesh led the 4-match series by 1-0. Bangladesh`s leading electronics brand Walton is the title sponsor for the series while Marcel, another renowned brand of Bangladesh`s electronics products emerged as the powered by sponsor.
