Elton Chigumbura cracked a half-century under pressure to help Zimbabwe reach 205-9 against Bangladesh in a triangular one-day series match here on Saturday.
The visitors were wobbling at 94-5 after being put in to bat, but Chigumbura steadied the innings with a 95-ball 64 -- his eighth half-century in 79 one-day internationals.
The Zimbabwean middle-order batsman hit five fours and a straight six off debutant seamer Mahbubul Alam in the last over before being run out.
Bangladesh never allowed Zimbabwe to build a big partnership with their disciplined bowling, with left-arm spinner Shakib Al Hasan (3-23) and off-spinner Naeem Islam (3-32) striking at regular intervals.
The spin duo were backed by fast bowler Mashrafe Mortaza, who finished with 2-41 off 10 overs.
Stuart Matsikenyeri was Zimbabwe's second-highest contributor with a 51-ball 39, which included six fours.
Sri Lanka are the third side in the series. Each team will play two league matches before the top two qualify for the January-16 final.
| Scoreboard |
| Zimbabwe |
| H. Masakadza | c S. Hasan b Mortaza | 16 |
| V. Sibanda | lbw b S. Hasan | 15 |
| S. Matsikenyeri | c R. Hasan b Naeem | 39 |
| T. Taibu | c Mortaza b Naeem | 17 |
| S. Williams | lbw b S. Hasan | 3 |
| K. Dabengwa | c and b Naeem | 10 |
| E. Chigumbura | run out | 64 |
| P. Utseya | c Alam b S. Hasan | 9 |
| R. Price | c S. Hasan b Mortaza | 17 |
| T. Mupariwa | not out | 1 |
| E. Rainsford | not out | 0 |
| Extras | lb3, w11 | 14 |
| Total | for nine wickets | 205 |
| Fall of wkts | 1-23, 2-53, 3-88, 4-94, 5-94, 6-123, 7-155, 8-185, 9-204 |
| Bowling |
| Mortaza 10-0-41-2 (w1), Alam 10-1-66-0 (w7), N. Hossain 4-0-24-0 (w1), S. Hasan 10-3-23-3, Naeem Islam 10-0-32-3 (w2), Ashraful 4-1-9-0, M. Hossain 2-0-7-0 |
| Overs | 50 |
Copyright 2009 AFP Global Edition
