Bangladesh's 'true face' exposed again against Zimbabwe

On the first day of the ongoing Test match against Zimbabwe in Sylhet, Bangladesh's batting frailties came to light. After winning the toss and choosing to bat, they were bowled out for 191 runs in 61 overs, failing to last the full day. In response, Zimbabwe ended the day on 67 runs, still without losing a wicket. Bennett was unbeaten on 40 from 37 balls, while Curran contributed 17 off 49 balls.

Zimbabwe's bowling attack wasn’t particularly strong, yet Bangladesh's batters struggled to deliver. Once again, captain Najmul Hossain Shanto failed to make an impact. After both openers were dismissed for just 32 runs, Shanto, who was expected to anchor the innings, could not rise to the occasion. He was dismissed playing a poor shot, caught at backward point off Muzarabani’s short ball outside the off stump. Shanto faced 69 balls for 40 runs but failed to build on his start. His manner of dismissal raised doubts about his shot selection.

The dismissal of Bangladesh's most experienced batter, Mushfiqur Rahim, was even more disappointing. He was caught at mid-wicket off Wellington Masakadza’s short ball, a dismissal that seemed uncharacteristic for a player of his experience. Meanwhile, Mominul Haque, struggling for form, was dropped on a duck but went on to score 56 runs after getting a second chance. This became the highest individual score for Bangladesh in the first innings.

With the dismissals of key batters like Shanto, Mushfiq, and Mominul, Bangladesh's batting crumbled and they were unable to recover. Towards the end, Zakir Ali fought back with a gritty 28-run innings, which prevented a quicker collapse. Otherwise, Bangladesh might have been all out much earlier. For Zimbabwe, Muzarabani and Masakadza claimed 3 wickets each.