Harare, Aug 7 (IANS) Sikandar Raza's three-wicket haul (3/56) and excellent century (117 not out off 127) helped Zimbabwe beat Bangladesh by five wickets in the second T20I and take an unassailable 2-0 series in the three-match series, here on Sunday.It was Zimbabwe's first series victory over Bangladesh since 2013. In the nine-year period in between, they had not won a single ODI against Bangladesh, losing 19 matches on the trot.It was also Zimbabwe's first bilateral ODI series win since 2019 (when they beat UAE), and their first against a full member side since the famous 2017 triumph against Sri Lanka.Bangladesh had lost just two wickets while making a 300-plus total in the last match, but here, despite looking to attack a bit more, they ended up with a total below 300. Batting first, a half-century from Tamim Iqbal and an unbeaten 80 off 84 balls from Mahmudullah helped Bangladesh post 290/9 in 50 overs.After 40 overs, Bangladesh were 206/4 with Mahmudullah on 27 off 50 balls. But off his next 34 balls, Mahmudullah smashed 53 runs to help Bangladesh post a formidable total.Raza struck thrice in the death overs for Zimbabwe, dismissing Afif Hossain, who made a run-a-ball 41, Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Taskin Ahmed to deny Mahmudullah stable support at the other end. And, what appeared to be a total heading past 300 was restricted with the fall of wickets late in the innings. Raza finished with bowling figures of 10-0-56-3.However, Raza's haul with the ball was surpassed by his batting heroics yet again as Zimbabwe made a shaky start in the run chase once again.The 36-year-old Raza became the first Zimbabwean player after Brendan Taylor to make back-to-back ODI hundreds. The middle-order batter had made an unbeaten 135 in the previous game to guide Zimbabwe past the target and here, yet again, he stood unbeaten on 117 as Zimbabwe sealed a series win by chasing the total in 47.3 overs.He had Regis Chakabva for company on Sunday, with the batter compiling his maiden ODI ton (102) as the duo stitched together a double century stand to rescue Zimbabwe from 49/4. Raza has 472 runs in ODIs in 2022 at an average of 78.66 and a strike-rate greater than 90. Notably, no other Zimbabwean batter has made more than 250 runs in ODIs this year.Brief Scores: Bangladesh 290/9 (Mahmudullah 80 not out, Tamim Iqbal 50; Sikandar Raza 3-56) lost to Zimbabwe 291/5 in 47.3 ov (Sikandar Raza 117 not out, Regis Chakabva 102) by five wickets
--IANSavn/inj
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