SPORTS REPORTER

Bangladesh will take on Zimbabwe in a one-off Test at the Harare Sports Club today, heading into the contest on the back of an impressive run in the red-ball format, having whitewashed both Ireland and Pakistan in recent home Test series.

Although the fixture is not part of the ICC World Test Championship, it will serve as important preparation for Bangladesh ahead of two challenging away Test series against Australia and South Africa later this year. Despite making a few changes to their bowling attack, the Tigers have retained the batting core.

Bangladesh have dominated Zimbabwe in Test cricket over the past 12 years, winning eight of their last 10 meetings. However, the Chevrons have shown they can still spring a surprise, as they did in the previous series when they beat Bangladesh in Sylhet before the visitors levelled it in Mirpur.

Zimbabwe also arrive with confidence after beating Afghanistan in a one-off Test in October last year.

Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto said the side have “adjusted well to the conditions” and feel “fully prepared for the match”.

“Everyone is confident because we have played good cricket in the last few series,” Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto said on Saturday. “We have a few important away series coming up after this. It is important how well we perform here… Our target is to play as well as we can.”

On the other camp, left-arm pacer Richard Ngarava is set to captain Zimbabwe in a Test for the first time. The hosts have also included several in-form players in their squad but will be without Sikandar Raza, who has been granted permission to fulfil his commitments with Worcestershire in the remainder of the 2026 Vitality Blast in England.