Cricket News: Zimbabwe VS Bangladesh T20 - Sikandar Raza, Wesley Madhevere and bowlers, gave Zimbabwe a 1-0 lead

Zimbabwe's Sikandar Raza exploded shots with his willow, leaving Bangladesh bowlers in despair. Bangladesh batters, though, found contributions but failed to get the job done for the team. 

Opting to bat first, Zimbabwe saw a slow start, losing an early wicket of opener Regis Chakabva in the third over. Craig Ervine, too, became a victim of a quicker delivery, losing his wicket at 21. Wesley Madhevere coming in at third alongside Sean Williams, powered the game by building 56 runs in partnership, but the inning paced when Sikandar Raza took to the fields. 

Sikandar Raza and Wesley Madhevere put forward a firework of a knock to score an unbeaten 91 off 43. Wesley Madhevere retired hurt at 67, but Sikandar Raza accumulated 65 runs in 26 balls, leaving Bangladesh bowlers completely helpless. They posted a total of 205/3 in 20 overs, of which 77 came in the last five overs. 

Bangladesh got off to a shaky start with the loss of Munim Shahriar in the second over. Litton Das, Anamul Haque and Najmul Hossain Shanto played decent innings in the middle, trying to accelerate the scoreboard, but failed. 

Litton Das' run-out wicket left him to exit in confusion. Skipper Nurul Hasan returned with the highest score of 42 off 26 to take the total to 188/6. Death overs scoring made the whole difference for teams. Where Zimbabwe hammered 77, Bangladesh could fetch only 48.

Is it a revival of the Zimbabwe cricket team before the T20 world cup?

Zimbabwe registered their sixth consecutive win in T20Is, their best win streak. 

From Wesley Madhevere's anchoring knock to Sean William attacking left-arm spinner, the roof raised by Sikandar Raza, Zimbabwe showed their absolute batting muscle flexes. Their batting was perfect, from powerplay and middle overs to the power-packed death overs. 

Even while defending, when the match reached the penultimate over with 32 runs to defend, Richard Ngarava's wide yorkers in the penultimate over stole the show, and the rest was done by Luke Jongwe in the final over. 

This displays Zimbabwe's right intent for the upcoming T20 World Cup. They have been clinical with their performance in the past few matches and will be a side to watch out for in qualifying matches. The teams will now collide for their next T20I tomorrow.