Bangladesh will be taking on Zimbabwe in the second ODI at the Sher-e-Bangla International Stadium in Mirpur, Dhaka on Monday 9 November.
Zimbabwe were handed a drubbing by the home side in the first ODI by 145 runs. The visitors had no chance whatsoever to take control of the game. First, it was Mushfiqur Rahim with the willow and then it was Shakib Al Hasan with the ball.
Bangladesh did not have the young and talented Soumya Sarkar to give them a brisk start as he had been sidelined for the ODI series due to an injury that he had picked ahead of the Zimbabwe series. Rahim and Shakib Al Hasan, two of the most senior players in the side ably took their home side over the line in the first ODI.
In reply to the total of 273 runs, Zimbabwe innings crumpled for a meagre total of 128 runs. Skipper Elton Chigumbura was the highest scorer in their side with 41 runs. The rest of the batting lineup fell like a house of cards. They could not handle the spin of Shakib Al Hasan and helped him earn his fifer in the first ODI.
"I thought we were in control when we were fielding. Maybe we gave them too many in the last couple of overs after the way we brought it back following Mushfiqur's dismissal. I thought it was still a chaseable score despite the last two overs. I think we gave them 15-20 runs more than we wanted. Obviously those things can happen especially towards the end of the innings," Chigumbura said at the post-match press conference.
"They bowled well, but we didn't execute well. I thought the way we got out, we didn't try to build an innings. Some of them tried to force the issue. I think that's what made it worse. We played a bit loose and if I am being critical towards our batters, I would say we gave him wickets. Shakib is an experienced guy so he used the wicket well."
Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe Mortaza will be eyeing yet another ODI series win at home. Bangladesh have been in incredible form on their home soil and have remained undefeated since February 2014. It will be a tough ask for Chigumbura and Co. to outclass the Bangla Tigers but they will try hard to draw level in the ODI series.
Expected lineups:
Bangladesh: Mashrafe Mortaza (C), Al-Amin Hossain, Arafat Sunny, Jubair Hossain, Kamrul Islam Rabbi, Litton Das, Mohammad Mahmudullah, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Mustafizur Rahman, Nasir Hossain, Sabbir Rahman, Shakib Al Hasan, Soumya Sarkar, Tamim Iqbal.
Zimbabwe: Elton Chigumbura (C), Regis Chakabva, Chamu Chibhabha, Tendai Chisoro, Graeme Cremer, Craig Ervine, Luke Jongwe, Neville Madziva, Wellington Masakadza, Richmond Mutumbami, Taurai Muzarabani, Tinashe Panyangara, Sikandar Raza, Malcolm Waller, Sean Williams.
Bangladesh vs Zimbabwe 2nd ODI Schedule:
Date - 9 November
Time - 12:30 pm IST (7 am GMT, 1pm local time)
Venue - Sher-e-Bangla International Stadium, Mirpur, Dhaka.
TV Listings - There will be no live coverage of the match in India. Viewers in Bangladesh can watch the 2nd ODI live on Gazi TV and fans in Zimbabwe can tune into Ten Sports.
