Zimbabwe set sights on encore

Match facts

Thursday, October 29
Start time 14.30 local (07.30 GMT)

Big Picture

Bangladesh entered the series as clear favourites but were shocked by an improving Zimbabwe in the first one-dayer on Tuesday. Their captain, Shakib Al Hasan, remains confident his team is strong enough to pocket the series 4-1 and has demanded a better performance from his top order. A familiar early collapse cost Bangladesh; they crumbled to 62 for 6, a position from which it was almost impossible to salvage a victory.

Zimbabwe arrived full of confidence after knocking over Kenya 4-1 in a one-day series, and on the back of Elton Chigumbura's superb all-round performance coasted to victory with more than 15 overs to spare. Their strength is in the batting; the return of Tatenda Taibu after a lengthy absence lends solidity of the middle-order, which includes the talented pair of Charles Coventry and Brendan Taylor. Add to that, Hamilton Masakadza, the second highest run-getter in ODIs this year, and Chigumbura, who has hit more ODI sixes in 2009 than everyone but Chris Gayle, and it looks a reliable unit.

The key will be their battle against Bangladesh's army of spinners, who have been vital in ensuring the home team's superiority over Zimbabwe in the past few years. Left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak shook them up on Tuesday by taking three in an over but the visitors managed to overcome that to post a comfortable win.

The major concern for Zimbabwe is the fitness of their captain, Prosper Utseya, who picked up an ankle injury in the first ODI. It is still unclear whether he will play on Thursday; Masakadza will take over the reins if Utseya doesn't recover in time.

Watch out for:

Hamilton Masakadza bludgeoned two 150-plus scores in the series against Kenya earlier this month on his way to posting the most runs ever scored in a bilateral ODI series. He had a quiet start to this series but remains a big threat at the top of the order.

Zimbabwe are well aware of Tamim Iqbal's batting prowess; he reeled off a couple of important half-centuries before capping it with a magnificent 154 during a triumphant tour of Zimbabwe a little more than two months ago.

Team News

Rubel Hossain, charged with leading the pace attack in the absence of Mashrafe Mortaza, had a woeful first game, his comeback international match since a side strain ruled him out in August. Bangladesh could opt for the more experienced Shahadat Hossain in his place.

Bangladesh (probable): 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Junaid Siddique, 3 Mohammad Ashraful, 4 Raqibul Hasan, 5 Shakib Al Hasan (capt), 6 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 7 Mahmudullah, 8 Naeem Islam, 9 Rubel Hossain/ Shahadat Hossain, 10 Abdur Razzak 11 Dolar Mahmud

Zimbabwe's line-up depends on whether captain Utseya can recover from injury in the break between the two games. If he doesn't, offspinner Malcolm Waller is one of the potential replacements.

Zimbabwe (probable): 1 Hamilton Masakadza, 2 Chamu Chibhabha, 3 Brendan Taylor, 4 Tatenda Taibu (wk), 5 Charles Coventry, 6 Stuart Matsikenyeri, 7 Elton Chigumbura, 8 Prosper Utseya/Malcolm Waller, 9 Graeme Cremer, 10 Ray Price, 11 Kyle Jarvis

"I think this is just the start we wanted. I would not want to change anything for the next game."
After the win in the first ODI, Hamilton Masakadza wants more of the same from Zimbabwe

"If you make that many mistakes you don't have a chance unless the opposition makes more mistakes."
Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan wants his side to tighten up their game