& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

Tigers tame sorry Zim

BISHWAJIT ROY
I Bangladesh trounced a careless Zimbabwe by | four wickets in the third । one-day international at [the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium yesterday to wrest a 2-1 advantage in the five-match series.
A blitzkrieg knock from Tamim Iqbal, who smashed ten fours and two sixes in his 72-ball 80. and a well-composed half-century by Mohammad Ashraful. 63 in 91 balls, took the Tigers to 198 for six in 40,4 overs. They were chasing a paltry Zimbabwe total of 196 that was made in 41.1 overs after the hosts had won the toss for the first time in the series.
Indeed it was an easy victory in the end for the home side, who were upset by five wickets in the first match, but that did not happen before a late-innings wobble that delayed the inevitable.
When Tamim and Ashraful and then .Ashraful and Rokibul Hasan were building up partnerships, the win appeared closer. But when former captain Ashraful departed at the start of the 33rd over with the victory only 22 runs away, three wickets fell for just 19 runs and it took them another 8.3 overs to score the remaining
runs.
But the most interesting part of the third game under lights at Mirpur was the home side's strategy of fielding five spinners at the expense of one pace bowler: a funny decision to many. One may say what's wrong with the plan when they could keep their opponents below the 200-run mark and as it's well established that their southern African opponents are weak against the slow bowlers.
It was however not the spinners who caused the doom, rather the madness of the Zimbabwe batsmen who spoiled a good chance to put up a fighting total on the board. And then again the question could be raised: why the selectors picked four pacers in the side for the first three games when they are well aware about the weakness of their opponents?
There is nothing wrong if someone takes the home advantage but it seems that the Bangladesh think-tank has had the intention to test their batsmen on the sporting wicket against a team like Zimbabwe to tune up the team and find out the right combination ahead of a tough challenge in their next assignment in the tri-nation tournament involving India and Sri Lanka.
But everything has changed and apparently the think-tank went into the
shell after the team's defeat in the first game although everybody in the team admitted that poor (op order batting was the main reason behind the heartbreaking defeat at the same venue.
TYue. the performance of the pace bowlers in the first two games in absence of spearhead Mashrafe Bin Mortaza and one-day specialist Syed Basel was pathetic and a real concern for the team management, but it was funny to sec the way they solved this problem.
Without any doubt it was (he best opportunity for the team to give the young pace bowlers a chance to find their feet against these opponents to make su re they can get the confidence to play in the bigger games when it's uncertain for the team to get the services of the experienced pace duo due to injuries.
And above everything a team like Bangladesh can't play with such an unusual bowling attack. It could be suicidal for the team in terms of finding the right combination.
It could have been an embarrassing decision for the team management after the way Hamilton Masakadza and Charles Coventry started to punish the spinners including captain Shakib Al Hasan and Abdur Razzak in the second wicket stand. Zimbabwe, however, lost the way once Coventry fell victim to left-arm spinner Enamul Haque. Coventry managed a top-edge which was taken comfortably by Nayeem Islam at midwicket.
Shakib kept changing his bowlers and the Zimbabwe batters kept falling playing bad shots. Stand-in skipper Masakadza missed his deserved hundred for only 16 runs as the right-hander played a tamed pull-shot against Razzak to find the safe hands of Rokibul at midwicket.
Pacer Nazmul Hossain returned the best figures of 3-13 in 4.1 overs while Enamul took three wickets for 45 runs inhis 10-overspell.
SCOREBOARD
Scoreboard of the day-night third one-day international between Bangladesh and Zimbabwe at the Sher-e-
Bangla National Stadium in
Mirpur on Saturday:
ZIMBABWE
Masakadza c Rokibul b Razzak 84
Taylor c Rahim b Nazmul 2
Coventry c Nayeem b Enamul 29
Mutizwa c Mahmudullah b Enamul 0
Waller b Mahmudullah 27
Matsikenyeri b Razzak 5
Chigumbura B Nazmul 20
ChibhabhaC Nayeem b Enamul 5
Cremer c Enamul b Nazmul 9
Price c Mahmudullah b Nazmul 3
Jarvis not out 0
Extras: (b-1.lb-5.w-5.nb-1) 12
Total: (All out in 41.1 overs) 196
Fall of wickets: 1-19, 2-90, 3-91,4-148,5-154,6-158, 7-177, 8-191,9-195
Bowler O M R W
Nazmul 4.1 1 13 3 •
Razzak 8 141 2
Shakib 7 1 32 0
Enamul 10 0 45 3
Nayeem 2 0 13 1
Ashraful 2 0 11 0
Mahmudullah 8 0 35 1
BANGLADESH
Tamim st Taylor b Cremer 80
ZunaedcChibhabhab Jarvis 5
Ashraful b Price 63
Rokibul cChibhabhab Jarvis 21
Mahmudullah c Masakadza
b Jarvis 7
Mushfiqur lbw b Cremer 5
Shakib not out 5
Nayeem not out 4
Extras: (lb-l,w-5,nb-2) 8
Total: (For 6 wkts in 40.4 overs) 198 Did not bat: Razzak, Nazmul, Enamul
Fall of wickets: 1-24,2-122,3-175,4-183,5-183,6-194
Bowler O M R W
Jarvis 10 0 38 3
Chigumbura 4 0 28 0
Price 10 0 42 1
Chibhabha 6 0 31 0
Cremer 8.4 2 43 2
Waller 2 0 15 0
Result: Bangladesh won by four wickets and lead the 5-match series 2-1.
Man-of-the-match: Tamim Iqbal.
Toss: Bangladesh.
Umpires: Alecm Dar and Nadir Shah.