Bennett, Raza stun Bangladesh as Zimbabwe end T20I series on a high
Zimbabwe, who narrowly fell short in the previous two matches, finished the series on a high with an emphatic win although they will feel the series could have gone their way had they been a little bit better in the batting department.
Sikandar Raza and Brian Bennett batted brilliantly to help Zimbabwe down hosts Bangladesh by eight wickets in the fifth and final T20I at the Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur on Sunday.
Zimbabwe, who narrowly fell short in the previous two matches, finished the series on a high with an emphatic win although they will feel the series could have gone their way had they been a little bit better in the batting department.
Raza, who earlier bowled an economical spell earlier in the day, saw Zimbabwe home with an incredible 72* off just 46 balls with the help of six fours and four sixes. He battled cramps but showed his boundary-hitting ability towards the end as Zimbabwe finished the chase with nine balls in hand.
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Bennett, who finished the series as Zimbabwe's highest run-getter, hit a vital 49-ball-70, laced with five fours and as many sixes. The second-wicket stand of 75 off 66 between him and Raza set up the 158-run chase.
Mahmudullah's eighth fifty helped Bangladesh overcome a top-order collapse and post 157-6 after 20 overs.
Raza's decision to field first paid dividends as Zimbabwe had Bangladesh reeling at 15-3 in the fifth over of the innings.
The host batters found it hard to negotiate the seam and extra bounce of Blessing Muzarabani and the turn and bounce of Brian Bennett, so much so that they conceded two wicket-maidens inside the powerplay.
Tanzid Hasan (two) and Soumya Sarkar (seven), the duo that lit up the previous game with a hundred-run opening partnership, got out cheaply. Towhid Hridoy (one) was done by a length ball with a little bit of turn by Bennett.
Mahmudullah's arrival in the middle brought a change in the home side's approach. The veteran batter displayed impeccable timing and placement to smash three consecutive boundaries off off-spinner Bennett.
Shanto, who endured a difficult start to his innings, grew confident and boundaries against medium pacer Faraz Akram got him going.
Mahmudullah and Shanto (36 off 28) added 69 off 45 deliveries to weather the storm and lay a platform for the following batters.
Mahmudullah reached his half-century in 36 deliveries in the 16th over.
Muzarabani got Mahmudullah out for 54 off 44 to dent Bangladesh's hopes of getting a big total. Shakib Al Hasan too looked rusty in his 17-ball-21.
Zimbabwe bowlers looked to pull things back towards the end, denying boundaries to the batters. But Jaker Ali's cameo of 24* off 11 helped them get past the 150-run mark.
