Grant Flower humbles Bangladesh

Occasional spinner Grant Flower completed a match haul of eight wickets as Zimbabwe won the second Test against Bangladesh on Monday to claim a 1-0 series victory.

Bangladesh, forced to follow on after Zimbabwe's first-innings 542 for seven declared, at least forced the touring side to bat again, making 301 in their second innings before going down by eight wickets.

Zimbabwe, needing just 11 for victory, lost both Dion Ibrahim and skipper Stuart Carlisle for ducks to seamer Mashrafee bin Mortuza before sealing victory at lunch on the fifth and final day.

Flower, however, the man of the match, put Bangladesh's Test credentials sharply into context.

The part-time left-armer destroyed Bangladesh's first innings by taking four for 43 and repeated the feat in the second with four for 63, including three of the top five batsmen.

He also broke Bangladesh's key second-wicket stand when Habibul Bashar, who made a century in the first innings, lifted a catch to mid-off to fall for 76 after putting on 122 with opener Javed Omar (80).

From 195 for one, the home side collapsed as their final nine wickets fell for a further 106 runs.

Flower's decisive spell saw him dismiss Bashar and former captains Aminul Islam and Akram Khan for only 12 runs.

Off-spinner Douglas Marillier also contributed with four lower-order wickets for 57 on the fifth morning.

Zimbabwe's win saw them take the two-match series, the first staged in Bangladesh, after the first game in Dhaka was drawn.

Zimbabwe had been in control before rain washed out two days' play.

Mail Cricket Editor