RESURGENT Zimbabwe senior men’s cricket team face their sternest test when they face a full-strength Bangladesh side in back-to-back T20I matches this weekend at Harare Sports Club.
With respect to USA, Singapore, Papua New Guinea and the Netherlands, Bangladesh will prove difficult to beat.
The last time the Tigers visited Zimbabwe, they white-washed Zimbabwe in both One Day Internationals and T20I series.
However, Zimbabwe, buoyed by the five-game winning streak that culminated in them winning the World T20 Qualifier B on home soil and booking a ticket to the World Cup in Australia in a couple of months, the Chevrons would want to continue with that momentum.
Zimbabwe will have to do that without their two most experienced and in-form bowlers, Blessing Muzarabani and Tendai Chatara. They have been ruled out of the series due to injuries sustained during the just-ended T20 World Cup Qualifiers.
The hosts have their work cut out as they face a wounded Bangladesh side that was white-washed in the T20I series against West Indies in the Caribbean but got their revenge in the ODIs, winning three nil.
The visitors are not taking any prisoners and have brought their strongest possible side, with Shakib Al Hassan the only notable absentee in an otherwise T20I solid lineup.
Where Zimbabwe looks thin in the bowling department, they make it up in the batting department, where they are strong with a mixture of experience and youth.
The home team will again look up to all-rounder Sikandar Raza straight from being named player of the World Cup Qualifier B tournament.
Sean Williams, who only returned to the international fold during the Qualifiers after almost six months, did not look out of touch as he scored two half-centuries. The locals will have to take off from where he left if Zimbabwe are to continue on their winning streak.
With a rejigged opening partnership of Captain Craig Ervine and his Deputy, Regis Chakabva, it will be interesting to see if Zimbabwe will play their fearless brand of cricket, which gained momentum under the tutelage of Dave Houghton and set the foundation for the team.
Chakabva has had many great starts, and if he can start converting his starts into big scores, Zimbabwe will win more often than not.
Wessley Madhevere will also be essential for Zimbabwe with both bat and ball. With the ball, he can cover for the missing strike bowlers as he is comfortable bowling in the powerplay.
Richard Ngarava will spearhead the Zimbabwe bowling attack supported by Luke Jongwe and Wellington Masakadza.
Tanaka Chavhanga, who is in the squad for the injured Muzarabani if he gets the opportunity to play this weekend, will have to learn to adjust his length as he tends to bowl short on pitches that do not assist fast bowling.
If he does that, he will be cannon fodder to experienced batters like Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah Riyad.
Litton Das loves playing against Zimbabwe and always brings the best out of him.
Taijul Islam and Mehidy Hasan will be handy in the spin department for Bangladesh. Taskin Ahmed and Mustafizur Rahman will provide the seam bowling firepower.
This promises to be an intensely contested series, with both teams wanting to prove their mettle in this shortest format of the game.
People love a winning team, and Zimbabwe will surely play in front of a sold-out Harare Sports Club, making it more intimidating for the visiting team.
