HARARE (Web Desk) - A proper ding-dong battle with its own soundtrack provided by the amazing fans at Castle Corner lit up the Harare night as Zimbabwe edged Bangladesh out, defending a total of 247 and wrapping up the ODI series 2-0 with a game to play.
Ben Curran produced only the seventh instance of a Zimbabwean batting through the entire 50 overs but his 111 not out only became match-winning after a never-say-die bowling effort from his team-mates. At 169 for 3, they were being batted out. At 176 for 5, they were back in it. At 211 for 6, they were tested in a way they weren't quite ready for. At 222 for 8, with the sky above them drenched in sunset colours, they were favourites.
When the captain Richard Ngarava, intimately involved in orchestrating the Bangladesh collapse - 7 for 65 - had Mehidy Hasan Miraz caught at deep square leg to signal the end of the game, the grass banks erupted. The songs became garbled. Joy rippled right through the whole place.
A pitch that had eased from its most menacing state - the first ODI was marked by a wicket once every 13 runs or so - still generated compelling cricket. Curran was out there at 9.30am when it was fresh and offered sideways movement. Rishad Hossain was out there at 5.20pm when it had dried out and the resulting slowness interfered with shot-making. He wasn't exactly worried about that as much as he was about trying to exploit the fading light and bring DLS into play. He asked for a change of gloves and was denied. He went down in between overs needing urgent care on his hamstring. It all came to nothing when he was bounced out.
Zimbabwe celebrated Rishad's exit like justice had been done. Bangladesh, meanwhile, just caught nerves. With 17 to get off 17, Mehidy went after Iknow Chabi for not calling a wide. "Ump! Ump! Ump!" he yelled. "What happened there, ump?!" The simple answer was he had shuffled across his crease which created space for the ball to go through, just a shade past leg stump. The new ODI rules allow for leniency and Zimbabwe would argue they deserved it. Two of their appeals for caught behind were turned down and with no DRS in this series they had no hope of recourse. Still their shoulders didn't slump. They just took down Tanzid Hasan and Rishad twice (according to their estimate at least).
Bounce was a friend in Harare. When the movement faded away, when the runs started leaking, a fast bowler willing to bend his back always found a little extra. Ngarava harnessed that to telling effect late in the piece. His third spell read 3-0-26-2. Nurul Hasan, who had batted capably to score 38 off 41 under pressure was suddenly gone, along with Mosaddek Hossain for 7 off 9. His final spell was a deeply satisfying one ball, one match and series winning wicket.
Two teams often left by the wayside of the international game were going tooth and nail though in large part their battles were with themselves. Curran had to restrain himself for virtually all of the four hours he was out there, playing late and close to the body. Forty-seven of his runs came square of the wicket or behind it. Only eight of them were boundaries. He built his epic nudge by nudge. He still didn't miss out when Bangladesh overpitched. Curran collected 33 runs in the 'V', including four of his nine fours. Sikandar Raza chipped in from the other end with 33 off 53, the fourth-wicket partnership (68) contributing more than all the previous ones combined (66).
Tanzid's half-century was special too. He was in control of 87% of the balls he faced and he did not back down from any of them. The confidence with which he played some of his drives is worth bottling and selling on the black market with a warning label of course, because the same thing that had helped him secure 57 runs in 70 balls led to his undoing when he saw part-timer Brian Bennett 22 yards away from him and tried to take him down without taking the proper care. Where would this game have gone if he had held himself back from that sweep shot and the ball hadn't gone on through to break his stumps. Still the dismissal provided a useful contrast. Zimbabwe's opener was able to resist temptation. Bangladesh's couldn't.
A key contributor to the victory was Brad Evans. Coming in at No. 8, he smashed a half-century in virtually no time. Zimbabwe's seventh-wicket partnership produced 99 runs at nearly twice the strike rate possible until then - 123.75 vs 66.97. Evans finished with 58 not out and hit all five of his team's sixes including three in the final over against Taskin Ahmed whose faith in slower balls proved to be misplaced. He also kept up with the two big quicks. Evans (2), Ngarava (3) and Blessing Muzarabani (2) combined picked up 7 for 136 in 28.1 overs.
Bangladesh needed someone like that down the order to provide some much needed back up for Tanzid and also Towhid Hridoy (60 off 90) - who spent all of his time at the crease frustrated either because his good shots kept finding the fielders or because his partners weren't ready to run singles. In truth though, he should have been doing better to place the ball. In conditions they are likely to find during the 2027 World Cup, Bangladesh were given a harsh lesson. This loss might only be worth it if they imbibe them.