Rishad, Taskin bowl Bangladesh to 2-0 lead against Zimbabwe

Bangladesh 142 for 4 (Towhid 37*, Jongwe 3-35) beat Zimbabwe 138 for 7 (Campbell 45, Bennett 44*, Taskin 2-18, Rishad 2-33) by six wickets

Towhid Hridoy kept his calm and hit pressure-releasing boundaries to steer Bangladesh to a six-wicket victory in the second T20I against Zimbabwe in Chattogram. The home side chased down the target of 139 with six wickets and nine balls in hand to go 2-0 up in the five-match series.

Hridoy struck two sixes and three fours in his unbeaten 25-ball 37, adding 31 runs for the fourth wicket with Jaker Ali, and another 49 for the fifth with Mahmudullah, who struck a massive six in his unbeaten 26 off 16 balls.

The victory was once again underpinned by Bangladesh's bowlers, who restricted Bangladesh for the second successive game. Taskin Ahmed was the best of the attack once again, taking 2 for 18 in four overs, while legspinner Rishad Hossain struck twice in an over to jolt Zimbabwe's middle order.

Zimbabwe owed most of their runs to newcomers Johnathan Campbell and Brian Bennett, who added 73 runs off 43 balls for the sixth wicket to rescue them from 42 for 5. Campbell's 45 is now Zimbabwe's highest score on T20I debut, while Bennett scored an unbeaten 44.

Zimbabwe start slowly

The Zimbabwe top order struggled to get going in the powerplay. Though they lost only one wicket - Tadiwanshe Marumani pinned lbw by Taskin - they kept hitting the fielders or were late on shots. They scored only 22 runs in the first six overs and did not hit a boundary in that phase for only the second time in T20 cricket. It was also only the second time that Bangladesh did not concede a boundary in the powerplay.

Joylord Gumbie finally found the boundary in the seventh over but fell in the next, holing out to mid-off for 17, the lowest score for a Zimbabwe opener in an innings of at least 30 balls. Rishad 's double strike in the tenth over was a crucial phase of the game, as he got rid of Zimbabwe's captain Sikandar Raza and Clive Madande, their top-scorer from the first T20I

Craig Ervine's mis-timed sweep off Mahedi Hasan reduced Zimbabwe to 42 for 5 in the 11th over and another sub-par total seemed inevitable.

Campbell shines on debut

Johnathan Campbell, the son of former Zimbabwe captain Alistair, gave his team something to bowl at with a brisk innings on debut. He was dropped when he was on 1 - wicketkeeper Jaker Ali ran towards square-leg but could not catch the mis-hit off Mahedi Hasan - and went on to hit three sixes and four fours in his innings off 45 off 24 balls, adding 73 for the sixth wicket with Bennett.

Campbell swung Shoriful Islam for Zimbabwe's first six in the 13th over and Bennett smacked Taskin over midwicket in the 15th. Campbell then hammered Rishad and Saifuddin for sixes in the next two overs; Bennett slammed Shoriful straight in the 18th over.

After Campbell's dismissal, Bennett gave Zimbabwe a strong finish, hitting a four and a six as they took 18 off the final over. He finished on an unbeaten 44 off 29 balls, and Zimbabwe ended on 138 for 7.

Source: ESPNcricinfo