zimbabwe Disciplined all-rounder performance to defeat bangladesh by 32 runs in the opening T20I of the three-match series at Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo. After posting a competitive score of 170/6, the hosts used their pace attack to bowl out Bangladesh for 138 with an over to spare.
Brian Bennett Earlier, Zimbabwe got a great start in the top order Ryan Burl And brad evans Added crucial runs in the final stages to increase the total score. Bangladesh looked dangerous in the middle overs Nahid Rana’s An impressive spell, but Zimbabwe finished so strongly that their bowlers found a challenging target to defend.
Blessing Muzarabani and Richard Ngarwa dismantle Bangladesh’s batting lineup
Zimbabwe’s pace pair blessings to muzarabani And Richard Ngarawa The victory was confirmed by performing sensationally with the new ball and in the death overs. The pair shared eight wickets between them, constantly troubling Bangladesh’s batsmen with extra bounce and disciplined lines.
Ngarava got out twice during the powerplay. saif hassan And tanzeed hassan Earlier, Muzarabani was dismissed and included in the party. Parvez Hussain Emon. Bangladesh were reduced to 34/3 inside five overs and never fully recovered from the early collapse.
Muzarabani bounced back in the final stages to finish with excellent figures of 4/17, equaling his career-best T20I bowling figures. Ngarawa ably supported him by claiming 4/26 as Zimbabwe bowled out Bangladesh for 138 for a deserved win.
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Despite Naheed Rana’s talent, Brian Bennett set the stage
Earlier in the evening, Bennett continued his impressive T20 form by scoring 44 runs off just 30 balls. The young opener attacked from the start, hitting boundaries with confidence and ensuring Zimbabwe got off to a positive start despite regular wickets at the other end.
Bangladesh fought back impressively through Naheed, who produced an excellent spell of fast bowling. The right-arm fast bowler took 4 for 26 and slowed Zimbabwe’s pace by dismissing Bennett before striking twice in the death overs. Taskin Ahmed Kept things tight, conceding only 22 runs from his four overs.
However, Burl played a valuable inning of 30 runs in 25 balls, while Evans played a quickfire 19 runs in just 10 balls. Their late partnership helped Zimbabwe overcome a middle-order slump and post a competitive total of 170/6.
Despite this, Bangladesh’s target did not get the expected momentum. Yasir Ali’s Struggling innings. Returning to the T20I team after almost three years, Yasir top-scored with 54 off 36 balls and registered his maiden T20I half-century. However, he received little support from the other batsmen as Zimbabwe’s pace attack maintained complete control throughout the innings and gave the hosts a 1–0 lead in the series.
Zimbabwe continued their excellent form in T20I and defeated Bangladesh by 32 runs in the first T20I.#ZIMvBAN #ZimbabweCricket #Cricket pic.twitter.com/7e8RF8QjIR
– CricketTimes.com (@CricketTimesHQ) 16 July 2026