Taylor-Ervine stand sets Bangladesh 272 to win

Bangladesh’s bowlers dominated the early exchanges, with Taskin Ahmed’s fiery new-ball spell reducing Zimbabwe to 24-3. But Brendan Taylor and Craig Ervine led a strong recovery with a 150-run partnership as Zimbabwe finished on 271-8 in the opening match of the tri-nation ODI series in Abu Dhabi. 
Tigers now need 272 to win.
After winning the toss and opting to field, Bangladesh got off to a flying start through Taskin. He trapped Brian Bennett leg-before in the first over. The umpire initially ruled the batter caught behind, but a review showed no contact with the bat on ultra edge. The technology subsequently detected the ball hitting Bennett’s pad, and the decision stood as umpire’s call.
Taskin claimed his second wicket off the first ball of the fifth over, trapping Ben Curran leg-before. Curran could not overturn the decision on review. The pacer then had Tafadzwa Tsiga caught by wicketkeeper Nurul Hasan Sohan to complete a devastating opening spell of three wickets for just 18 runs in six overs.
Zimbabwe, who managed only 30-3 in the first 10 overs, fought back through Taylor and Ervine. The experienced pair added 150 runs off 176 balls for the fourth wicket, giving Zimbabwe a competitive total.
At 40 years and 253 days, Taylor showed that age is just a number. On his return against Bangladesh, the veteran, who has spent more than 22 years in international cricket, scored 81 off 101 balls, hitting 10 fours. Having last scored an ODI half-century against Pakistan in November 2020, he brought up his 40th ODI fifty after a six-year wait.
Taylor looked set for a century before Saif Hassan ended his innings. Attempting a reverse sweep, he picked out Mosaddek Hossain at point. In the same innings, Taylor surpassed Andy Flower to become Zimbabwe’s highest ODI run-scorer, taking his tally to 6,836.
Ervine also threatened a bigger score and continued the fight after Taylor’s dismissal. However, he fell just seven runs short of a century, caught by the wicketkeeper off Shoriful Islam for 93 off 106 balls, including nine fours.
Bangladesh tried to regain control by dismissing both set batters. Saif took two wickets for 17 runs in three overs, while Shoriful claimed two wickets for just five runs in his final spell. However, Zimbabwe’s ninth-wicket pair added 37 off 26 balls to take the total to 271-8.
Taskin finished with 3-44 in 10 overs. Rishad Hossain took one wicket for 66 runs in nine overs, while Mustafizur Rahman went wicketless despite conceding 44 runs in his 10 overs.