Zimbabwe's Douglas Hondo took career-best figures of six for 45 as Bangladesh slumped to 169 for eight after day two of the second and final Test on Saturday.
Hondo removed six of the top seven as the home side, 1-0 up in the series and replying to Zimbabwe's first innings of 298, collapsed after a half-century opening stand.
Six wickets fell for 49 before Mohammad Rafique, batting at eight and struggling with a left hamstring problem, limited the damaged with a top score of 56, hitting a six and seven fours.
Hondo's performance all but matched that of Bangladesh spinner Enamul Haque junior, the man of the match in the first Test and who took seven for 95 off 35 overs during Zimbabwe's knock.
Visiting captain Tatenda Taibu, seeking his first Test century, was left stranded on 85 not out from 218 balls as Haque cleaned up the tail with the last three wickets.
Taibu, who also made 92 in the first Test, said: "I think I batted well with the lower order batsmen and the bowlers kept it simple. They bowled to their plans. So it's definitely a best day so far.
"The pitch surface is crumbling. Batting on the last day won't be easy."
Hondo added: "At the start when the ball was a bit newer I just tried to keep my line and length. Then when it started reversing, I started to play around with it."
Zimbabwe's openers began well in reply, Javed Omar and Aftab Ahmed putting on 58 before Omar was caught behind off Hondo for 34.
Nafis Iqbal (28) was Hondo's second victim, also edging behind, and the fast-medium seamer then trapped Mohammad Ashraful leg before to make it 84 for three at tea.
Bangladesh, who won their first-ever Test in Chittagong, were immediately in trouble after the break when Hondo bowled skipper Habibul Bashar for 10, then removed batsman Aftab Ahmed and Khaled Mashud for ducks.
"We expected more better performance from our batsmen," Bashar said. "But I think we can stay in the match."
Zimbabwe have just returned from suspension after the International Cricket Council ruled their team was too weak to play Test cricket.
ScorecardZimbabwe first innings (overnight 244-6)
S.Matsikenyeri b Enamul Haque jnr 51
B.Rogers b Enamul Haque jnr 29
D.Ebrahim lbw b Enamul Haque jnr 12
H.Masakadza c Aftab Ahmed b Tapash Baisya 43
B.Taylor lbw b Enamul Haque jnr 2
T.Taibu not out 85
E.Chigumbura c Mohammad Ashraful b Tapash Baisya 34
T.Panyangara c Khaled Mashud b Mashrafe Mortaza 21
G.Cremer b Enamul Haque jnr 1
D.Hondo b Enamul Haque jnr 9
C.Mpofu c Mohammad Ashraful b Enamul Haque jnr 0
Extras (lb-6 b-4 nb-1) 11
Total (all out, 118 overs) 298
Fall of wickets: 1-65, 2-96, 3-107, 4-111, 5-171, 6-221, 7-257, 8-262, 9-298
Bowling: Tapash Baisya 22-7-67-2, Mashrafe Mortaza 23-5-69-1, Mohammad Rafique 38-14-57-0, Enamul Haque jnr 35-9-95-7 (nb-1)
Bangladesh first innings
Javed Omar c Taibu b Hondo 34
Nafis Iqbal c Taibu b Hondo 28
Habibul Bashar b Hondo 10
Mohammad Ashraful lbw b Hondo 5
Rajin Saleh c Masakadza b Cremer 24
Aftab Ahmed c Matsikenyeri b Hondo 0
Khaled Mashud b Hondo 0
Mohammad Rafique c Ebrahim b Masakadza 56
Mashrafe Mortaza not out 4
Tapash Baisya not out 0
Extras (lb-3 nb-5) 8
Total (for eight wickets, 63 overs) 169
To bat: Enamul Haque jnr
Fall of wickets: 1-58, 2-71, 3-84, 4-85, 5-103, 6-107, 7-132, 8-168
Bowling: Panyangara 13-5-31-0 (nb-5), Mpofu 11-3-28-0, Hondo 17-6-45-6, Chigumbura 5-0-23-0, Cremer 10-1-23-1, Masakadza 7-1-16-1
