Mohammad Saifuddin finished with figures of 3-45 off his 10 overs

Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo

Mohammad Saifuddin took three wickets, while Imrul Kayes and Liton Das scored 90 and 83 respectively as Bangladesh cruised to a seven-wicket win over Zimbabwe in the second ODI in Chittagong.

Being put in to bat first, Zimbabwe got off to a dismal start as captain Hamilton Masakadza was caught behind off the bowling of Saifuddin for 14.

Brendan Taylor and Cephas Zhuwao made up for the loss of Masakadza with a 52-run partnership before Zhuwao was dismissed by Mehidy Hasan Miraz for 20.

Taylor and Sean Williams added 77 runs to the score, during which Taylor surpassed his fifty, before he was trapped lbw off the bowling of Mahmudullah for a 73-ball 75, which included nine boundaries and a six.

Williams went on to make 47 before he was caught behind off the bowling of Saifuddin.

Sikandar Raza struck a 61-ball 49, which included three boundaries and two sixes, before Zimbabwe lost wickets in a hurry.

As a result, they finished on 246/7 off their 50 overs.

Saifuddin was the pick of the bowlers with three wickets, while Mehidy, Mahmudullah, Mustafizur Rahman and captain Mashrafe Mortaza chipped in with one wicket apiece.

Chasing 247 to win, Bangladesh made a fantastic start to their innings as Kayes and Liton amassed a 148-run partnership, during which both batsmen brought up their half-centuries.

Imrul Kayes (left) and Liton Das both scored fifties

Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo

With Bangladesh cruising, Zimbabwe tried to do everything possible to break the partnership.

However, it wasn’t until the 24th over that they managed to do so when Liton was dismissed by Raza for 83, which came off 77 balls and included 12 boundaries and a six.

Fazle Mahmud failed to trouble the scorers as he was stumped by Taylor off the bowling of Raza.

Kayes and Mushfiqur Rahim steadied the ship with a 59-run stand before Kayes became Raza’s third victim after scoring 90, which came off 111 deliveries and included seven boundaries.

Rahim and Mohammad Mithun mopped up the remaining runs as Bangladesh reached their target with 35 balls to spare.

Rahim ended up making 40 off 52 balls, which included two boundaries and a six, while Mithun remained undefeated on 24, which came off 21 deliveries and included two boundaries and a six.

Raza was the only bowler to take any wickets.

Saifuddin was named Man of the Match.