Bangladesh skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto won the toss and opted to bat first in the opening Test against Zimbabwe at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium today.
Zimbabwe is, of course, a familiar opponent for Bangladesh. The recent statistics also favor Shanto's team. Bangladesh has won seven of their last eight matches against Zimbabwe. The only loss came in Sylhet in the debut match at the venue back in 2018, when the visitors defeated the hosts by 151 runs.
Moreover, Zimbabwe has not had a good run in recent times. They haven’t won a single Test in the last four years, suffering defeats even against relatively new teams like Afghanistan and Ireland. To challenge the hosts, Zimbabwe will need to turn around their recent performances.
Meanwhile, there is a forecast of rain during this Test, but the good news is that the first morning of the Sylhet Test is expected to be sunny. However, Sylhet’s weather is unpredictable, rainfall can arrive without warning.
Bd-pratidin English/ Afia
