Zimbabwe stumbled from 225/2 to 276 on Day 3 to find themselves in trouble in the Test match against Bangladesh at the Harare Sports Club. They saved the follow on, but only just: they fell 192 runs short of Bangladesh’s 478.
Takudzwanashe Kaitano (87 runs in 311 balls) and Brendan Taylor (81 in 92) batted in contrasting styles during their stay in the middle. But once they fell after lunch, all the hard work went in vain against Bangladeshi spinners Shakib Al Hasan (4-82) and Mehidy Hasan Miraz (5-82).
Before coming to bat in the second innings, Bangladesh had the lead of 192. Shadman Islam (22*) and Saif Hassan (20*) saw off the remaining 17 overs. They ended on 45 for no loss, extending the lead to 237.
With the explosive batters such as Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib and in-form Mahmudullah still to come, Bangladesh are arguably in complete control before resuming Day 4. They will be looking for quick runs to set an improbable target for Brendan Taylor’s men.
The Zimbabwe bowlers, led by Blessing Muzarabani, will need to deliver something special to avoid another big-margin defeat. They had shown their range in the early part of the first innings to reduce Bangladesh to 132/6. Since then, however, they were wayward in line and length, and barely made the Bangladeshis uncomfortable at the crease.
Despite bagging four wickets, Shakib has made only 4 with bat, while Mushfiqur had got only 11. The duo will be the key for Bangladesh on Day 4 to keep the scoreboard ticking. They are likely to bat until tea and will be looking to ask Zimbabwe to chase above 400.