In their Test history, Zimbabwe had never chased down a target of more than 162 runs. So, to win the Sylhet Test against Bangladesh, the visitors had to make history. And they did — chasing down a target of 174, the Rhodesians set a new record. Battling through Mehidy Hasan Miraz’s spin, Zimbabwe defeated Bangladesh by 3 wickets to take a 1-0 lead in the two-match series under the leadership of Craig Ervine.
With this win, Zimbabwe tasted victory in Test cricket after four years. Their last Test victory came against Afghanistan in the UAE during the 2020–21 season. As for beating Bangladesh, it had been a long seven-year wait. Zimbabwe had last defeated Bangladesh back in November 2018, also in Sylhet. Since then, Bangladesh had won all three encounters between the two sides.
In the first Test against Zimbabwe, Bangladesh had been hoping to set a lead of 300 runs after the second innings. However, on the fourth day, a terrible batting collapse saw the Tigers bowled out for just 255. This left Zimbabwe needing 174 runs for victory. Chasing the target, Zimbabwe’s top-order resilience eventually saw them make history with a 3-wicket win.
