Unchanged Zimbabwe put Bangladesh in to bat

Zimbabwe Opt to Bowl in 2nd T20I as Bangladesh Fight to Keep Series Alive Bulawayo — Riding high on a wave of recent dominance, Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza won the toss and elected to bowl first against Bangladesh in the second T20I at the Queens Sports Club. With the memories of a clinical opening victory still fresh, the hosts are looking to wrap up the T20I cup and complete a clean sweep of the tour, having already secured victories in the one-off Test and the ODI series. Zimbabwe Stick to Winning Formula Unsurprisingly, Zimbabwe named an unchanged XI for this crucial fixture. The decision keeps the highly anticipated T20I debut of Ben Curran on hold, with Tadiwanashe Marumani once again pairing up with Brian Bennett at the top of the order. Raza’s decision to field first was heavily influenced by the devastating performance of his pace duo two days ago. In the series opener, Blessing Muzarabani and Richard Ngarava tore through the Bangladeshi batting lineup, picking up four wickets apiece to bundle the visitors out for 138 and secure a 32-run victory. Alongside Muzarabani, Ngarava, and Brad Evans, Zimbabwe boasts a flexible and deeply layered bowling attack. Raza has plenty of options to roll his arm over, including Dion Myers’ medium-pace and the spin variations of Ryan Burl, Milton Shumba, and himself. Plenty of eyes will also be on Evans, not just for his bowling, but to see if he earns a promotion up the batting order following his stellar back-to-back half-centuries in the ODI leg. Bangladesh Reshuffle the Spin Department Faced with a must-win scenario to force a Sunday decider, Bangladesh made a solitary, tactical change to their lineup. Left-arm orthodox spinner Nasum Ahmed makes way for legspinner Rishad Hossain, as the team looks to inject some attacking variety into their middle-overs strategy. The visitors have stuck with their own three-pronged pace attack. Taskin Ahmed, Nahid Rana, and Mohammad Saifuddin—all of whom have shown flashes of brilliance on this tour—will lead the bowling charge. However, the pressure squarely rests on the Bangladeshi batters to post a formidable total against a confident Zimbabwean attack on a helpful Bulawayo surface. Playing XIs Zimbabwe: Brian Bennett, Tadiwanashe Marumani (wk), Dion Myers, Sikandar Raza (capt), Ryan Burl, Milton Shumba, Clive Madande, Tashinga Musekiwa, Brad Evans, Richard Ngarava, Blessing Muzarabani. Bangladesh: Tanzid Hasan, Saif Hassan, Parvez Hossain Emon, Towhid Hridoy (capt), Nurul Hasan (wk), Yasir Ali, Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Mohammad Saifuddin, Taskin Ahmed, Nahid Rana.