Bangladesh crushed Zimbabwe by eight wickets in the first of five one-day internationals at the Queen’s Sports Club on Sunday.
Zimbabwe, put in to bat after Bangladesh won the toss and elected to field, were restricted to 207 before Mohammad Ashraful’s third one-day century lifted the tourists to the win.
The hosts’ Mark Vermeulen scored an impressive 92 on his return after five years in the wilderness.
The left-arm spin bowling of Ray Price was in particular meat and drink to Ashraful, who continually smacked him to the boundary.
The seamers were also unable to cope as Ashraful took his one-day career total beyond 3,000 runs.
Ashraful and Tamim Iqbal shared a partnership of 137, with Bangladesh wrapping up victory with more than 15 overs to spare.
Bangladesh arrived in Zimbabwe having won the Test and one-day series in the West Indies.
The second match is today and the third on Friday.
“It was a long journey from the West Indies. We were flying for nearly two days,” skipper Shakib Al Hassan said on the eve of the game.
Bangladesh only had one warm-up game before the opening one-day international, which the tourists lost to Zimbabwe A.
TAIWANESE EXITS: Fellow Australian Christopher O’Connell joined Tristan Schoolkate as a winner following his 6-1, 6-2 defeat of Tseng Hsin-chun Australian qualifier Tristan Schoolkate on Monday dispatched rising Brazilian talent Joao Fonseca 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 at the ATP Toronto Masters, ensuring a breakthrough into the world top 100. The 24-year-old from Perth moved to 98th in the ongoing live rankings as he claimed his biggest career victory by knocking out the ATP NextGen champion from November last year. Schoolkate, son of a tennis coach, won his first match over a top-50 opponent on his sixth attempt as he ousted the world No. 49 teenager from Brazil. The qualifier played a quarter-final this month in Los Cabos and won through qualifying for his
Top seeds Alexander Zverev of Germany and American Coco Gauff on Tuesday advanced to the third round of the Canadian Open after both players were pushed hard by their opponents. World No. 3 Zverev, playing in his first match since his first-round loss at Wimbledon, was far from his best, but emerged with a 7-6 (8/6), 6-4 win over Adam Walton under the lights in Toronto. Momentum shifted firmly in Zverev’s favor when he won a 52-shot rally in the first set tiebreak and he sealed the win on a double fault by the Australian in the second set. “It was a very
Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko upset top-seeded Coco Gauff 6-1, 6-4 on Saturday night to reach the National Bank Open quarter-finals. “Your support was incredible,” Mboko told the crowd in French after a chorus of “Ole, Ole, Ole” chants echoed around the venue. “I’m really happy to win today ... It’s incredible. I’m so happy to beat such a great champion.” Gauff dropped to 2-3 since winning the French Open. She followed the major victory with opening losses in Berlin and Wimbledon, then overcame double-fault problems to win two three-set matches in Montreal. Gauff had five double-faults on Saturday after having 23 in
Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen on Thursday said that he is staying with the Red Bull team next year, ending months of speculation over his future. “Some people just like to stir the pot, some people just like to create drama, but, for me, it’s always been quite clear, and also for next year,” the four-time champion said ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix. “I’m discussing with the team already the plans — the things that we want to change for next year, so that means that I’m also staying with the team for next year,” he said. Verstappen has a contract with