An important moral victory
It may be uncomfortable for a Bangladesh fan to admit it, but at the end of a two-Test series that was shared 1-1 by Zimbabwe and Bangladesh in Bangladesh, the visitors will have walked away with the moral victory.
Zimbabwean cricket fans, however, should take much heart from the result that came on the back of a 3-0 ODI series whitewash. It was not just a show of fight or spirit -- words that can often be received by the underdog as a damnation by faint praise -- but an exhibition of ability and competence against the odds.
Zimbabwe -- a team that was on the rise in the late 1990s and early 2000s but have since been ravaged by waves of political crises both at aboard and national level -- put the ODI disappointment behind and sealed their first away win since 2001 by winning the first Test in Sylhet by 151 runs. Unlike their hosts, they did not rely on individual brilliance to win the Test -- their highest score across two innings was Sean Williams's 88 in the first innings and the best bowling was young leg-spinner Brandon Mavuta's four for 21 in the second innings.
The display of teamwork is all the more impressive given that they had not played a Test in 2018 before Sylhet and are the lowest-ranked Test side. They are also a side that, having hosted and failed in the 2019 World Cup qualifiers, had their coaching staff summarily dismissed and were starting under new management.
Even in defeat they were not cowed by a 218-run first-innings deficit, nor could the loss of one of their frontline bowlers in seamer Tendai Chatara on the first day extinguish their fight. And for that, they owed a great deal to Brendan Taylor, who struck his second century of the match in a lost cause yesterday. Taylor's ability to bat time in Tests and also attack when necessary was the strongest reminder that Zimbabwe can produce world-class Test cricketers.
"I wouldn't really consider a victory per se, but I'm happy with the performances the guys put in," skipper Hamilton Masakadza said. "They fought really hard, even in this Test match where we were behind for the whole Test match.
"I think we only have one series between now and the next six months, and that's some games against India. That's the only thing that's on the radar."
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