Abandonment gives Bangladesh unbeatable lead

Heavy overnight rains ensured the fourth one-dayer, the first of two in Chittagong, was abandoned without a ball being bowled. Though the rains stayed away on Friday morning, a slushy outfield at the Zohur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium and cloudy skies ensured a delayed start at best. The ground's average drainage facilities, coupled with its location in Chittagong's low-lying plains, meant that only uninterrupted sunshine could have saved the game. Unfortunately, the cloud cover dashed such hopes, forcing the umpires to call the match off after a final inspection at 12.30 pm local time, over 75 minutes ahead of the final cut-off.

The result meant Bangladesh will go into Sunday's fifth game with an unbeatable 2-1 lead. Though there is no rain forecast for Sunday, more showers are predicted for Saturday, which could scupper Zimbabwe's hopes of squaring a series in which they made a winning start.