CENTURIES from Innocent Kaia and Sikandar Raza helped Zimbabwe to a five-wicket victory over Bangladesh at Harare Sports Club on Friday, ending a 19-match losing streak in One Day Internationals. (ODI)
Chasing 304 for victory, a record-breaking partnership of 192 for the fourth wicket was the foundation of victory.
It was two contrasting centuries. Kaia was content on anchoring the Zimbabwe run chase hitting the ball down the ground and running the ones and twos hard, whilst Raza was the enforcer scoring six maximums in a boundary-filled century.
Bangladesh probably missed a trick by not playing a left-arm spinner who always troubles Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe’s run chase got off to the worst possible start when Zimbabwe lost captain Regis Chakabva and the returning Tarisai Musakanda with the score on 6-2 after two overs.
Wessly Madhevere and Kaia brought Zimbabwe back into the match, scoring 56 runs for the third wicket.
A miscommunication led to a needless run-out when the two batters tried to run off a misfield, and Madhevere was found short of his ground at the striker’s end for 19 from 27 balls.
Kaia’s countenance in the context of the match said it all, and Madhevere tried to comfort him on his way to the changing room.
After that, Kaia never put his foot wrong as he first went to his 50 from 66 balls and the way he celebrated showed that he knew that his team still had a long way to go.
Zimbabwe were behind the eighth ball, and the stadium crowd just wanted a respectable defeat.
But as the partnership started blossoming, so did the belief of those who were rooting for Zimbabwe, and the noise began to increase.
The fans began to sing at the top of their voices, urging Raza and Kaia on.
Raza injured himself when he tried to pull a short ball but only succeeded in hitting the ball to his pads and floored him in the process needing the services of the physiotherapist on more than one occasion.
He was dropped on 43 but made it count by getting to his 50 from 57 balls, his third half-century of this white ball series.
Zimbabwe had wrestled control of the match with the rub of the green going their way.
It was now a race to 100, with Raza almost pipping Kaia to the milestone, but the Highfields-born batter got the milestone first from 115, having hit 11 boundaries and one huge six.
Raza got to his hundred-two deliveries later in the same over from just 88 balls, and the fans went into delirium.
From that point, Zimbabwe had to play badly to lose the match.
Kaia holed out in the 42nd over for 110 but had put his team in a solid position to win the match.
Luke Jongwe came in and played a cameo of 24 runs from 19 balls taking the home side even closer.
Raza then decided enough was enough, ending the match with a big six over midwicket to stay unbeaten on 135 from 109 balls.
Zimbabwe had recorded a famous victory.
Bangladesh will be disappointed about how they went about their business with the bat, where they were 20-30 runs short of a good total on that wicket.
Zimbabwe would not care much as the revival under Dave Houghton continues.
