Zimbabwe bowl in what is a must-win game for them

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Chris Mpofu delivers the ball AFP

The Report by Liam Brickhill

Toss Zimbabwe chose to bowl v Bangladesh

Zimbabwe captain Hamilton Masakadza called correctly at the toss and opted to bowl first against Bangladesh in match four of the T20 tri-series.

In sweltering conditions in Chattogram, and with extreme humidity and dew expected to be a factor, Masakadza was eager to put Bangladesh in to bat on an uncharacteristically green and grassy track, spiderwebbed with cracks.

"Not really too sure about the dew, so we'll bowl up front and see where we go," Masakadza said at the toss. "If we don't win today we're out, so there's no negotiation or two ways about it. We've just got to make sure we give it our all and get those two points. It's a good wicket here, so anything around the 160 mark we'll be happy with."

With both teams backed into a corner by their lapses against an unbeaten Afghanistan, there were several changes made to the personnel on both sides, including two T20I debutants for Bangladesh: Najmul Hossain will slot into the top order, while 19-year-old legspinning allrounder Aminul Islam makes his full international debut, replacing Sabbir Rahman in the XI. Taijul Islam has also been left out today, with Shafiul Islam coming in to bolster the seam attack.

"Batting first will ease a lot of pressure," Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan said. "We can play with freedom, and there won't be any target in the back of our minds. It's important how well we can start with the bat. We didn't bat well in the last games, but batsmen usually enjoy themselves at this ground."

Zimbabwe are yet to win a game so far in the series, making this a must-win encounter for them if they are to have any chance of making the final next Tuesday. They have drafted in Richmond Mutumbami, playing as a specialist batsman, to replace an injured Craig Ervine, while seamer Chris Mpofu is playing ahead of Tendai Chatara.

Bangladesh: 1 Najmul Hossain, 2 Liton Das, 3 Shakib Al Hasan (capt), 4 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 5 Mahmudullah, 6 Mosaddek Hossain, 7 Afif Hossain, 8 Aminul Islam, 9 Mohammad Saifuddin, 10 Shafiul Islam, 11 Mustafizur Rahman

Zimbabwe: 1 Brendan Taylor (wk), 2 Hamilton Masakadza (capt), 3 Richmond Mutumbami, 4 Sean Williams, 5 Tinotenda Mutombodzi, 6 Ryan Burl, 7 Regis Chakabva, 8 Neville Madziva, 9 Kyle Jarvis, 10 Ainsley Ndlovu, 11 Chris Mpofu