Bangladesh Women to face Zimbabwe in ODI series opener
The series between the two sides will be well prepared ahead of the 2021 Women's Cricket World Cup Qualifier, which is slated to start on November 21. Both sides will get to know about their strongest XI by the end of this series.
Zimbabwe Women and Bangladesh Women will lock horns against each other in the first ODI of the three-match series at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo on November 10, Wednesday.
The series between the two sides will be well prepared ahead of the 2021 Women's Cricket World Cup Qualifier, which is slated to start on November 21. Both sides will get to know about their strongest XI by the end of this series.
Both Bangladesh and Zimbabwe have been placed in the same group and they will get more chances to take part against each other in that competition. This series can give them a clear picture of whom to be backed in the XI.
Zimbabwe Women are coming into this series with a lot of expectations. But their chances will be dented as they will be missing their in-form batter Chipo Mugeri Tiripano. She suffered an injury to her leg during the T20 World Cup Africa Qualifier in September 2021.
Zimbabwe Women lost their four-match ODI series at home to Ireland 1-3. They started the series with a dominating win but couldn't live up to expectations as they lost three back-to-back encounters.
Skipper Mary-Anne Musonda was the leading run-scorer of that ODI series with 169 runs in four innings. Her unbeaten 103-run knock was the most fluent knock of the series and she will be eager to continue that momentum going into this series.
Josephine Nkomo, the all-rounder, can be one of the most trusted players for Zimbabwe. She bagged a total of four wickets in the recent ODI series and also scored 164 runs in four innings. Zimbabwe's chances will rely a lot on Nkomo's form.
Zimbabwe Women, led by Mary-Anne Musonda, will be eager to put that series aside and turn the tables this time around against Bangladesh Women. Bangladesh Women are coming into this series after a long hiatus.
Interestingly, Bangladesh Women's last international assignment was way back in the T20 World Cup 2020 in Australia. The Asian side didn't get enough chances later on to showcase their skills and they would be feeling rusty when they take on Zimbabwe Women in the first ODI.
For the visitors, there are a lot of match-winners comparatively and they would be eyeing a big series win. It can be a motivation booster going into a big tournament like the World Cup qualifiers. Nigar Sultana will be leading the side and also keeping the wickets.
Bangladesh's last ODI series came way back against Pakistan Women in November 2019. They will be keen to take part in the series after a two-year-long break in ODI cricket. Fargana Hoque with the bat and Jahanara Alam with the ball will be the players to watch out for from the Bangladesh side.