Sikandar Raza struck an unbeaten 117 on Sunday as Zimbabwe defeated Bangladesh by five wickets and took a 2-0 lead in the three-match one-day international series. The second successful run chase for Zimbabwe in as many days was this one.
The Pakistan-born batsman and captain Regis Chakabva contributed 201 runs for the fifth wicket after Bangladesh scored 290-9 in Harare. Their collaboration changed the course of the game.
Raza, who has routinely excelled for his adopted nation, was ably supported by Chakabva, who scored 102 runs off 75 balls, including two sixes and 10 fours. Zimbabwe scored 291-5 with 15 balls left after early wicket losses and a slow scoring pace gave the impression that they had little chance of victory at Harare Sports Club.
Zimbabwe continued its stunning improvement under recently recruited Houghton by winning the opening ODI match on Friday by five wickets against opponents rated eight places higher.
