Ngarava, Muzarabani sink Bangladesh in T20I opener

Richard Ngarava and Blessing Muzarabani starred with the ball as Zimbabwe defeated Bangladesh by 32 runs in the opening T20I of the three-match series at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo on Wednesday.

The pace duo claimed four wickets apiece while defending a target of 171, dismissing Bangladesh for 138 in 19 overs despite Yasir Ali's career-best 54 off 38 balls. The defeat extended Bangladesh's miserable tour after they had already lost both the one-off Test and the preceding ODI series.

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Earlier, Bangladesh pacer Nahid Rana returned career-best T20I figures of 4 for 26, but Brian Bennett's explosive 44 off 30 balls and unbeaten late-order contributions from Ryan Burl (30 not out) and Brad Evans (19 not out) lifted Zimbabwe to a competitive 170 for six after they were asked to bat.

Chasing 171, Bangladesh suffered an early collapse, losing Saif Hassan (12), Tanzid Hasan Tamim (16) and Parvez Hossain Emon (5) inside the powerplay to slump to 34 for three.

Stand-in captain Tawhid Hridoy (14) and Yasir Ali added 39 runs for the fourth wicket to steady the innings, but Hridoy's dismissal, followed by Nurul Hasan's run-out for three, left Bangladesh in deeper trouble.

Playing his first international match since 2023, Yasir struck two fours and three sixes in an enterprising knock and shared a 52-run partnership with Mahedi Hasan (19) to revive Bangladesh's hopes. However, once Mahedi and Yasir fell in the space of four deliveries, the visitors' innings unravelled as they lost their final five wickets for just eight runs.

Ngarava finished with figures of 4 for 26, while Muzarabani returned 4 for 17 to seal Zimbabwe's victory and give the hosts a 1-0 lead in the series.

Earlier, Zimbabwe looked set for an even bigger total after Bennett's aggressive innings and useful contributions from Sikandar Raza (20) and Dion Myers (20). However, Rana and Mohammad Saifuddin (2 for 35) struck at regular intervals to reduce the hosts to 139 for six in the 18th over before Burl and Evans added an unbeaten 31 runs from the final 15 deliveries to propel Zimbabwe to 170 for six.

The second T20I will be played at the same venue on Friday.