Tanzid Hasan stars as Bangladesh beat Zimbabwe to clinch T20I series

BULAWAYO: Opener Tanzid Hasan produced a match-winning unbeaten half-century as Bangladesh defeated Zimbabwe by four wickets in the third and final T20I to seal the three-match series 2-1 at Queens Sports Club on Sunday.

Chasing 144, Bangladesh reached the target in 19.4 overs after losing six wickets, with opening batter Tanzid Hasan leading the charge with an unbeaten 66 off 58 deliveries, including one four and four sixes.

Wicketkeeper-batter Parvez Hossain Emon and captain Towhid Hridoy scored 24 runs each, while Yasir Ali added 10 to help Bangladesh complete the successful chase.

For Zimbabwe, Richard Ngarava, Brad Evans and Sikandar Raza claimed two wickets apiece but were unable to prevent Bangladesh from overhauling the target.

Earlier, Zimbabwe posted 143-7 in their allotted 20 overs, courtesy of a resilient half-century from Dion Myers and a solid opening stand led by Brian Bennett.

Myers top-scored with 73 from 53 balls, striking seven fours and two sixes, while Bennett made 47 off 38 deliveries, including eight boundaries.

Apart from the two top scorers, none of the Zimbabwe batters managed to reach double figures as Bangladesh's bowlers kept the hosts under pressure throughout the innings. Zimbabwe also lost two wickets through run-outs.

Wicketkeeper-batter Tadiwanashe Marumani scored four before being dismissed, while captain Sikandar Raza fell cheaply for three. 

Ryan Burl contributed seven, Brad Evans made one, Clive Madande was dismissed for a duck, and Milton Shumba remained unbeaten on four.

For Bangladesh, Mohammad Saifuddin was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 2/35 from his four overs, while Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain and Abdul Gaffar Saqlain claimed one wicket each.