BANGLADESH VS ZIMBABWE 2nd ODI:BANGLADESH DEF ZIMBABWE BY 6 WICKETS

Bangladesh defeated Zimbabwe by six wickets in the second One-Day International to level the three-match series 1-1 at the Shere Bangal National Stadium in Mirpur here on Tuesday.Bangladesh, chasing 161 to win, romped home in 44.5 overs with six wickets at hand. Raqibul Hasan who remained unbeaten on 52 was declared man of the match. Bangladesh lost Tamim Iqbal early in reply to Zimbabwe's 160-9 in 50 overs. Md Ashraful was the next man to go as the hosts reached 42-2. Mehrab Hossain Jr and Raqibul Hasan took the onus and added 52 runs before Hossain Jr fell to Price for 43. Raqibul top scored with 52 including seven boundaries.Rainsford, Utseya, Mupariwa and Price claimed one wicket each for the visitors.Sean Williams, one of the most promising youngsters from Zimbabwe, played a determined knock with 59 runs to recover the visitors from 47-6 in 18.3 overs. He added 96 runs with Utseya for the seventh wicket.Nazmul Hossain claimed three wickets as Rubel Hossain and Mashrafe Mortaza scalped two each.Mohammad Ashraful won the toss and chose to field first in the must-win game for Bangladesh. The Hossain duo vindicated their skipper's decision, dismissing Zimbabwe top order early. Zimbabwe, leading the series 1-0, were six wickets down with Matsikenyeri got run-out by Mashrafge Mortaza.Nazmul Hossain drew the first blood in 9.5 overs, getting rid of Massakadza for 17. He struck again two overs later, to trap the other opener Sibanda leg before. Rubel kept pressure from the other end and got rid of former skipper Tatenda Taibu soon after. The visitors lost three more wickets adding 10 runs in next four overs. Nazmul scalped three for 28 in 10 overs.

While the hosts were jubilant following the early collapse of Zimbabwe, Williams and Utseya fought back with a determined 96-run stand. Williams slammed three fours and one six from 89 balls before he was run out by Mortaza in an excellent attempt. Utseya followed suit soon in the final over for 38. Mortaza claimed two wickets in that over as Zimbabwe produced 160 for nine in 50 overs.