Bangladesh 156 for 2 (Naeem 66*, Sarkar 50) beat Zimbabwe 152 (Chakbwa 43, Myers 35, Rahman 3/31) by eight wickets
Bangladesh beat Zimbabwe by eight wickets in the first T20I to create a trifecta of winning their 100th match across all three formats. Their pacers took eight wickets to demolish the batting, before Mohammad Naim and Soumya Sarkar put together the opening stand of the team's first century in the format.
Zimbabwe once again paid the price for fielding errors and giving too much extra, but lost mainly due to batting collapse. They slipped from 91 to 152 for 2, at least 40 less than what they looked set to get.
Naeem's unbeaten 66 - his second T20I fifty - was a mature effort, in which he not only played the role of the attacker but also ended the game. The match was sealed when he hit a boundary at mid-off in the final over. They had Nurul Hasan at the other end when they secured the win.
In the fourth over, Naeem's three fours off Richard Nagarwa's ball gave Bangladesh's innings air. Sarkar then joined in the fun by hitting two big sixes, eventually scoring a fifty off 45 balls. He will fall soon after as he tries to complete the second run after collecting a throw from Sarkar's deep catch near the crease after a back flick from Regis Chakabwa.
Zimbabwe could have had Naeem on 49, but to the misunderstanding of Sikandar Raza when he intercepted a throw from deep with Naeem behind the crease. Zimbabwe eventually scored a run out when Blessing Mujarbani was dismissed from short third man to direct a hit out. Mahmudullah, but by then it was too late.
Earlier, Nurul Hasan was instrumental in getting Bangladesh back in the game when Regis Chakabwa smashed 43 off 22 balls that flew like a bullet train. He scored, pulled, scooped and scored runs during the second wicket. 64 price with Wesley Madhevere. When Zimbabwe looked set, Madhavere took a simple return catch to Shakib in the ninth over.
But Zimbabwe's momentum began to slow down when Hasan's throw towards the non-striker's end got Chakbwa out in the eleventh over with a massive. Raza fell later in the same over, converting a blow off Shoreful Islam into a complete collapse.
After a brief recovery, Zimbabwe lost their last four wickets in 11 balls. After Mohammad Saifuddin bowled Luke Jongwe, substitute Shamim Hossain worked hard on his left at long-on and took a brilliant catch to leave batsman Ryan Burle stunned.
Apart from Islam, Rahman struck with a few late strikes to ensure that Bangladesh fell short of the target they had set. He did not use a single full over of his innings. Eventually their downfall - 8 for 61 in 13 overs - gave them an opportunity to take the lead in the series.