2nd Test: Bangladesh v Zimbabwe at Chittagong, 15-19 Nov 2001 CricInfo Live Report

2nd Test: Bangladesh v Zimbabwe at Chittagong, 15-19 Nov 2001
Shahryar Khan

Bangladesh 2nd innings: End of Bangladesh 2nd innings,
Zimbabwe 2nd innings: Zimbabwe 2nd innings,
Live Reports from previous days

MASHRAFE GAVE A JOLT

A meager target of 11 runs hid a little refreshment for the crowd and for Mashrafe, the fastest among Bangladeshi pacers. Mashrafe clean bowled Dion Ebrahim for naught in his fifth delivery of the first over with the roar from his home crowd. Stewart Carlisle was to go next edging a catch to Akram Khan at slip. Gripper hammered two boundaries to stop the chaos and Zimbabwe won the series by 8 wickets.

SOME CROWD PULLING MOMENTS AT M A AZIZ

Optimistic Trevor Chappell must be utterly disappointed this morning before he could take a single sip into his coffee mug when his overnight not out batsmen were taking guards. Travis Friend, whom the Bangladeshi batsmen dealt with courage and no difficulty up to day four, dismissed the most dependable at that hour Javed Omar by trapping him lbw. That was the very first ball in this morning indeed.

Friend used the light breeze in the early hours to impart swing to do the trick. His exit had certainly cornered the hosts intimidating them with a looming innings defeat.

Javed’s departure might have left a negative impact on Ashraful, the kid who was setting an example of patience hanging on to the surface uncomplainingly yesterday playing 53 deliveries to score 1, was tempted by a clever Marillier leg-break to go for an ambitious shot that took him to the hands of the deep mid-wicket fielder. Before this ball he smashed Marillier for a boundary.

He was working well before this shot to make 10 runs that came off 91 balls. So hopes of saving even an innings defeat was looking far away. The situation aggravated as skipper Naimur Rahman, the man traumatized about loosing his precious seat of captaincy, ran his run-drought for the last time in this series. Marillier snapped up his wicket as he failed to ward off a ball that hit his pad enough to impress the umpire. Naimur hit three fabulous boundaries in his 24. Bangladesh lost their seventh wicket for 267.

Enamul Haque was taken away soon for duck as he offered a return catch to Marillier, the hero in this morning. Mashrafe-Bin-Mortaza, followed him in the next ball planning to whack the leggie down the wicket only to allow Andy Flower take his bails off before he could put his legs on the popping crease.

Mohammed Sharif, anticipating that he only could infuse at least some delight into this drab affair, struck Grand Flower for two huge sixes in the same over with a boundary besides those. Khaled Masud drove twice to the fence too. These stormy innings saved the humiliating innings defeat. Bangladesh finished with 301 just ten runs ahead of their imposing opponents.