6:16pm And that will be a wrap from us for this game. We hope you enjoyed our coverage and we will be back again on Saturday with the third ODI. Until them, from all of us here at Cricinfo, it is goodbye. Stay safe and take care, folks!
Ben Curran, Player of the Match: (Conditions) Conditions play slightly differently in the winter. To get to that total was a good effort. Have not played ODIs in a while, so was trying to take confidence from my previous series, albeit that was a long time ago. Was trying to stick to my processes and after losing those wickets, had no choice but to bat through. (On his partnership with Brad Evans) First time batting with him - he played beautifully and he took the pressure off me. I was not striking it as cleanly as him, so half the award definitely goes to him.
Richard Ngarava, Zimbabwe captain: We just said to ourselves that we needed to do better (with the bat). Nice to get a couple of partnerships there. We always are working as a bowling unit. Zimbabweans, they always find a way to survive. (On the Curran-Evans partnership) That was quite special, especially from Brad. Give credit to the coaching staff there (helping with the use of the sidearm) and the results are there (to see). (On how he is feeling about the series win) Pretty special. I am going to be happy and celebrate this. But we still have a game in hand (and want to give the fans something more).
Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Bangladesh captain: We bowled really well and took four wickets but they got a partnership in the last moment. They had a 98-run partnership and that was disappointing from our team - we could not get their wicket. We could do better in a few areas - we have to break partnerships. We have to take wickets in those times, and then momentum will come to our side. Wicket looks very good, 248 is a very good score and the second half, ball was coming on easily. If we got partnerships (at the end), it would have been better. Little bit dark but we still believe we can get better, and we did not get a partnership in that moment.
Sikandar Raza: Our journey really started from the World Cup and we are continuing. The beauty is the belief (in the team). We can believe that we can win the game from anywhere. Even today, there was a time when you'd have felt the game was drifting away. Winter wickets are a lot different (than summer). Winter wickets, you are looking at 250. Wicket was still slightly soft, so it was about getting partnerships going. A little upset that I could not carry on. He (Curran) was really upset with the way he got out. The fight and character he showed…and then, for Evans to finish the innings in the manner he did. As the lights were coming on, the crowd kept cheering us. There was a period when the game was slipping away but we heard the crowd singing and asking us to not give up. Thank you to the crowd.
5:55pm Phew. What a game. What drama. And it all came down to a captain-versus-captain. Mehidy needed 14 to square the series for his side; Ngarava needed just a wicket to seal the deal. Mehidy cracked; Ngarava did not, and Zimbabwe now have a famous series win to celebrate.
From Bangladesh's POV, it should not have gotten this tricky. At one point, they were in control, especially with Hridoy and Nurul at the crease. But their tendency to lose wickets in a bunch, and to lose them at inopportune moments, kept the door ajar for the hosts and eventually, they barged in, with almost all of their bowlers playing key roles.
Mehidy Hasan Miraz c Evans b Ngarava 27 (54m 33b 3x4 0x6) SR: 81.81
Right. Ngarava to bowl. 14 off 12. Mehidy or nothing for the visitors, by the looks of it. And to add another layer of drama, Zimbabwe can now have only five outside the ring
END OF OVER:48 | 3 Runs 1 Wkt | BAN: 234/9 (14 runs required from 12 balls, RR: 4.87, RRR: 7.00)
- Mehidy Hasan Miraz27 (32b)
- Brad Evans9-0-48-2
- Sikandar Raza9-0-51-1
Shoriful Islam b Evans 6 (10m 4b 1x4 0x6) SR: 150
Around the wicket