Feature

Close shaves, chants and a cherishable moment

ESPNcricinfo presents the Plays of the day from the fifth day of the only Test between Zimbabwe and Bangladesh in Harare

Elton Chigumbura struck a crucial blow when he dismissed Shakib Al Hasan  •  Associated Press

Elton Chigumbura struck a crucial blow when he dismissed Shakib Al Hasan  •  Associated Press

Close shave of the day
Left-arm seamer Brian Vitori, who has been impressive all match, was at his best this morning. He was able to get movement into the right-hander, the only thing he did not do in the first four days. After capturing the wicket of Mohammad Ashraful, he found even more zip and dished up two unplayable deliveries to Mahmudullah in the next over. Both were length deliveries that moved in from middle stump, curling towards the batsman and squeezing into the tiniest of gaps between bat and pad. Mahmuddullah had no idea what to do, and probed forward but was unable to reach the ball. How those deliveries missed the stumps is anyone's guess.
Runaway bowler of the day
Elton Chigumbura hadn't got too many wickets in this match but the ones he got were big. In the first innings, he ended a confident knock by Mohammad Ashraful when he had him caught behind. After watching Brian Vitori and Kyle Jarvis reap rewards in the second innings, Chigumbura waited patiently for his turn. It came with one of the biggest scalps of the session in the form of Shakib al Hasan. With the potential there for Shakib to form a matchsaving partnership with Mushfiqur Rahim, it was crucial that one of the two be sent back early on and Chigumbura did the job, having Shakib Al Hasan caught in the slips. He knew the importance of his breakthrough and, in celebration, tore around the field, escaping the clutches of his team-mates who wanted to embrace him.
"Wave your bat in the air like you just don't care" innings of the day
Bangladesh's batsmen were having a dismal time out there but Abdur Razzak enjoyed a carefree stint at the crease when he decided to play a few shots. The crux of his cameo came in a three-ball burst in which he made Ray Price look like Robin Petersen bowling to Brian Lara. The first six was a down-on-bended-knee slog sweep over deep midwicket, the second one a carbon copy of the first, which went over the fielder who was put there for the catch. The third was a stunning straight hit off a tossed up ball over Price's head and the boundary. Just as Razzak threatened to do a Herschelle Gibbs or Yuvraj Singh, he hit the fourth ball for a single.
Chant of the day
The Zimbabwean fans victory cry is an emphatic one. It has four simple beats, repeated with the two counts of a word that sounds like "Baya". It sounds quite friendly but has a rather hostile meaning. It explains that the opposition, known as the meat in this song, is ready to be roasted. With Bangladesh being marinated all morning, by the time they returned from lunch, they were ready to be placed on the coals and grilled. Ten minutes later, that's exactly what happened.
Most cherishable moment of the day
Kyle Jarvis waited for umpire Kumar Dharmasena to raise his finger and as soon as he did, charged towards the striker's end and pulled a stump out of the ground. The rest of the team formed a protective circle around him and the buoyant Ray Price came running in and jumped on top of all of it. Zimbabwe had returned to Test cricket, in some style and soon the players found the country's bright red, yellow, green and black flag draped around them. They stood there for what seemed like a few minutes, taking in a historic moment, while the small crowd cheered their efforts with gusto. Then, they jogged around the boundary, clapping, waving and celebrating a wonderful performance and a long-awaited return.

Firdose Moonda is ESPNcricinfo's South Africa correspondent