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ZIMBABWE fell terribly short yesterday when they succumbed to a massive 169-run defeat to Bangladesh in the opening game of the three-match ODI series at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium.

This was also a record win for Bangladesh in ODIs as they surpassed the previous best 163-run margin that they managed against Sri Lanka in an ODI in Dhaka in January 2018.

A second ODI hundred for Liton Das (126) provided the mainstay of the innings as the Tigers reached a lofty 321 for 6 after opting to bat.

Heat and humidity eventually got the better of Das, and he had to retire his innings in the 37th over, but Mohammad Mithun’s fifty and rapid cameos from Mahmudullah and Mohammad Saifuddin kept Bangladesh ticking.

Opening the batting alongside Tamim Iqbal, Das crunched the sixth ball of the innings to the cover-point boundary, and added three more inside the powerplay to set the pace as Iqbal took his time settling in.

A rasping cut raised Bangladesh’s 50 in the 11th over, and Iqbal was fortunate to survive a very strong lbw shout soon afterwards when Carl Mumba pinged his front pad from around the stumps.

Zimbabwe declined the review even though replays showed Iqbal would have been out, and there was some iffy judgment with regards to the DRS from both sides as Iqbal then burnt Bangladesh’s review when Wesley Madhevere, the 19-year-old debutant, trapped him in front with an off-break that rushed on with the arm.

Chris Mpofu had Zimbabwe’s best bowling figures after ending the match with 2/68.

Chevrons captain Chamu Chibhabha conceded the team was poor and lamented the absence of middle order batsmen Craig Ervine (ruled out sick) and Sean Williams, who has been attending to his wife following the birth of their daughter recently.

Chibhabha was impressed by the teenage debutant Madhevere, who was Zimbabwe’s top scorer with 35 runs under the belt after most of the Zimbabweans failed to handle the pressure chasing a target of 322 to win.

“I thought the Bangladeshis batted really well. They had a guy bat through for them, and they had partnerships through the game. That was the key for them.

“It was good to watch him (Madhevere) play positively. This is a nice venue for us, the last time we played we won a Test. Hopefully we can turn things around and win the next game.

“I am sure Sean Williams will play the next game, but we don’t know yet about Craig Ervine. Hopefully, he will be fit,” said Chibhabha. — Sports Reporter/Cricinfo.