Bangla hold silght edge over Zimbabwe in battle of minnows

Jaipur, Oct 12 (UNI) Battered and bruised by the West Indies and Sri Lanka in their previous matches, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe finally battle on even grounds as the minnows meet each other in search of their maiden ICC Champions Trophy win in both side's final qualifying match here tomorrow.

For both the teams, it was a jaw-dropping experience as they found themselves complete misfits in a competition of this magnitude and the only plausible consolation is gaining no experience.

Bangladesh looked game for a fight and they did well to score 265 for nine in the first ODI against Sri Lanka, even though Habibul Bashar's side lost the match by 37 runs. But their reputation took a severe beating in Jaipur last night where defending champions West Indies skittled them out for 161 and then Chris Gayle's blazing ton saw Brian Lara's men racing to a 10-wicket victory. And for the Bangla side, their captain is yet to open his account after playing two matches and tomorrow would be his last chance to break the duck.

Zimbabwe, on the other hand, had a disastrous start as Lara's men got them out for a meagre 85 before inflicting a nine-wicket defeat and then the Lankans crushed them by 144 runs in the second match.

Despite their similar fates, Bangladesh hold slight edge over their African opponents but much would depend on their batsmen.

Shahariar Nafees and yesterday's half-centurion Aftab Alam look in good form while the bowlers have done a decent job so far.

Zimbabwe, on the other hand, would have to come up with a vastly imporved show to avoid the ignominy of yet another defeat.

Teams (From): Bangladesh: Habibul Bashar (captain), Shahriar Nafees (vice-captain), Khaled Mashud (wicket-keeper), Mohammad Rafique, Mohammad Ashraful, Mashrafe Mortaza, Rajin Saleh, Abdur Razzak, Aftab Ahmed, Syed Rasel, Shahadat Hossain, Farhad Reja, Saqibul Hasan, Mehrab Hossain Zimbabwe: Prosper Utseya (captain), Stuart Matsikenyeri, Brendan Taylor (wicket-keeper), Vusi Sibanda, Elton Chigumbura, Hamilton Masakadza, Terry Duffin, Tawanda Mupariwa, Ed Rainsford, Piet Rinke, Anthony Ireland, Gregory Strydom, Chamu Chibhabha and Tafadzwa Kamungozi Umpires: Steve Bucknor and Daryl Harper Third umpire: Simon Taufel Fourth umpire: Billy Bowden Match referee: Ranjan Madugalle UNI XC AY PDS BS1508