India Times
By Associated Press
14th August 2009
BULAWAYO: Hamilton Masakadza scored a maiden century and Brendan Taylor hit 94 runs to guide Zimbabwe to a 69-run victory over Bangladesh in the third cricket ODI on Friday.
Masakadza smashed four boundaries and two sixes to score 102 from 112 balls in his 71st ODI as Zimbabwe made 323/7. He was once was the youngest centurion on test debut after scoring 119 as a 17-year-old schoolboy against West Indies in Harare in 2001.
Medium-pace bowler Tawanda Mupariwa, playing for the first time on his home ground at the Queens Sports Club, and spinner Ray Price then took three wickets each as Bangladesh was bowled out for 254 runs in 44.2 overs.
Zimbabwe now trail 2-1 in the five-match series. “I’ve been waiting for this for a long time,” Masakadza said. “It’s always nice to get off the mark. I’ve been close a few times but today I finally came through. The greatest feeling is that I wanted to do well for the team and we won the game.”
Masakadza put on 142 for the fourth wicket with Taylor before playing across the line to be bowled by spinner Enamul Haque. Zimbabwe had gone from 60/3 in the 12th over to 202/4 in the 39th over.
Taylor, a batsman-wicketkeeper, and Elton Chigumbura then put on 90 in just over seven overs. Taylor, who was dropped in the deep by Haque on 57, was run out in the 48th over.
Chigumbura, who reached his half-century off just 26 balls, ended up 61 not out after hitting three boundaries and five sixes.
Raqibul Hassan top-scored for Bangladesh with 78 before being clean bowled by fuller ball from Masakadza’s slow seamers.
Bangladesh got off to the worst possible start when Mupariwa had Tamim Iqbal caught by Mark Vermeulen in the slips on the first ball of the innings.
Eight balls and eight runs later, opener Naeem Islam was bowled for 4 by an inswinging delivery from Chigumbura.
Mohammad Ashraful, who scored a century in the first match, was caught for 9 by Masakadza on the boundary off Mupariwa, and Bangladesh were 16/3 in the fifth over.
Mushfiqur Rahim added 33 off 39 balls before miscuing a ball from Price and being caught by Charles Coventry at deep extra cover.
No. 9 batsman Alam Mahbubul put up some resistance at the end with an entertaining 59, hitting part-time spinner Malcolm Waller for three straight sixes in one over. He added 55 runs with number with Mehrab Hossain, who made 25.
“We didn’t bowl well and we didn’t field well,” Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan said. “It was a very difficult day for us and hopefully we will come back in the next game.”
Zimbabwe captain Prosper Utseya said a meeting with Sports Minister David Coltart after losing Tuesday’s match had helped the team.
“The minister came and told us that he believed in us. It helped,” Utseya said. “He told the guys what it meant to be representing the country. It was very encouraging to have a Minister motivating us there in the changing room.”