After winning the One-Day International (ODI) series, Zimbabwe have continued their excellent form into the T20 Internationals (T20I), registering a 32-run win in the first game against Bangladesh in Bulawayo. After putting up 170/6, Richard Ngarava (2/26) and Blessing Muzarabani (4/17) ran through the Bangladesh batting and bowled them out for just 138 in 19 overs.

Yasir Ali (54) scored a vital fifty, but no other batter crossed even 20, leaving Bangladesh in trouble. He put on 52 for the sixth wicket with Mahedi Hasan (19), which gave them a glimmer of hope. But Bangladesh lost their last five wickets for eight runs, which resulted in their massive defeat.

Solid batting performance by ZIM

Zimbabwe rode on a solid batting performance to set themselves a competitive total. At one point, they looked set to get in excess of 190, but the Bangladesh bowlers pulled things back to give themselves a chance. Playing just his fourth T20I, Bangladesh pacer Nahid Rana finished with career-best figures of 4/26, while Mohammad Saifuddin picked up a couple of scalps as well.

Plenty of Zimbabwe batters got off to starts, but could not convert them into a big one. However, opener Brian Bennett set the tone with a 30-ball 44, while Ryan Burl (30), Dion Myers (20), Sikandar Raza (20) and Brad Evans (19) chipped in with crucial runs.

In fact, Evans and Burl put up an unbeaten 31 off the last 15 balls of the innings, which took Zimbabwe to 170.

Bangladesh will hope to pull things back in the second T20I, which will be played on July 17 (Friday) at the same venue.

Brief scores:

Zimbabwe 170/6 in 20 overs (Brian Bennett 44, Ryan Burl 30*; Nahid Rana 4/26) beat Bangladesh 138 in 19 overs (Yasir Ali 54, Mahedi Hasan 19; Blessing Muzarabani 4/17) by 32 runs

Player of the Match: Richard Ngarava

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