ZIM vs BAN 2nd T20I Results

2:32 PM IST Onto the series decider - It's been a tour to forget for Bangladesh across formats, but this win should give the camp a real lift heading forward. For Zimbabwe, the belief will be that one bad day at the office is no reason to hit the panic button. But they have a lot to improve on, especially after a torrid day fielding-wise. With the scoreline locked at 1-1, the decider promises to be a fitting finale to what's been a cracking series so far. Bulawayo hosts the third and final T20I on Sunday, July 19, with the first ball set for 10.30 am GMT. Do join us well before that for all the buildup. Until then, cheers!

2:32 PM IST PLAYER OF THE MATCH - MOHAMMAD SAIFUDDIN receives the award for an all-round show in the match. He played a superb cameo of 31 off 10 balls towards the backend of the first innings. And also picked up a wicket in his spell. On his immediate thoughts, begins by giving thanks to the Almighty, saying it's been a while since he last picked up a Player of the Match award in T20 cricket. He adds the win also brings Bangladesh level in the series, and he's clearly delighted with how things have gone. When asked what turned the match Bangladesh's way, he credits the openers first, saying they set the perfect tone at the top. He also praises the bowling unit, singling out Mahedi and Rishad for how well they bowled through the innings. On preparation coming into the game, he says there were plenty of discussions around adjusting to the conditions, pointing out the contrast between the winter chill here and the heat back home. He admits the adjustment wasn't easy early in the tour, but notes the batters finally got it right today.

2:31 PM IST The captain of Zimbabwe - Sikandar Raza reflects on the defeat. He admits he read the pitch wrongly at the start. He says the ball clearly turned in the first few overs, with even the seamers extracting some bounce off a slow surface, and adds they expected the pitch to ease out for batting before it started gripping more. When asked to sum up the overall performance, he doesn't hold back. He calls himself genuinely embarrassed as captain, and says the fielding had a direct ripple effect on the batting that followed. He credits the bowlers, though, saying that barring the final over, they did an excellent job, restricting Bangladesh to around 158-159 after 19 overs despite the catches going down, which he calls a tremendous effort in itself. He adds that the poor fielding eventually bled into the batting, and that's what shaped the result. On Bangladesh's opening stand, Raza says Zimbabwe never felt the game had slipped away, fielding lapses aside. He notes it wasn't a surface where batters could simply walk in and start swinging, and details that the new batters needed time to settle, and that's exactly why Bangladesh lost wickets in clusters. It was the final over, he says, that ultimately took the game beyond them. Speaking on that costly last over, he calls it a consequence of the fielding through the innings rather than a one-off. He highlights that there were a couple of good deliveries mixed with a couple of poor ones, and points out that Zimbabwe even shelled a catch off the final ball, which he says sums up how poor the fielding was on the day. He admits that conceding close to 30 runs in that over made the chase far tougher but adds that even a target of around 165 wouldn't have changed his view, given how his side fielded. Ends by bluntly stating that that Zimbabwe simply didn't deserve to win this one.

2:21 PM IST The victorious captain of Bangladesh - Towhid Hridoy, about his team's performance, says that both their department, bowling and batting, did really well to show their level, so he is very happy with his team's performance today. In the first innings, Hridoy says that they focused on creating a strong partnership and work on it. In the second innings, he says that the bowlers did well to attack the opposition batters from the first over, which is why they were able to chip in some wickets inside the Powerplay. About concerns of Nahid Rana's injury, he states that it is looking fine and we should expect him to play the final match of the series.

2:17 PM IST ... Time for the post-match Presentation ...

2:17 PM IST The difference maker - There's no taking away from how well Bangladesh hunted as a pack, executing their plans to near perfection. The two frontline spinners, Mahedi Hasan and Rishad Hossain, shared seven wickets between them, with the pacers chipping in when needed. But as the old saying goes, catches win matches. Zimbabwe shelled six or seven chances across the game, while Bangladesh didn't let a single one slip through their hands. In the end, that was the difference that mattered most.