By Parveen Ahmed
Dhaka, Bangladesh - Zimbabwe hopes to put up a good fight to reverse a losing streak against Bangladesh when the two sides meet for the first of a five-match one-day international cricket series, captain Prosper Utseya said on Monday.
The Zimbabwe captain had termed his team as "underdogs" on arrival Wednesday in the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka. But a massive 192-run win against a home side in a practice match Sunday has boosted the team's expectations.
"We will put up a good fight," Utseya told a news conference Monday, on the eve of the first match at Mirpur near Dhaka. "We feel happy after the last practice match."
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Zimbabwe has lost two home series against Bangladesh this year, the latest in August. Utseya's team, however, gained some confidence after a 4-1 series win over Kenya earlier this month.
"We did pretty well against Kenya at home before coming here. There are a few new faces and some of the players have shown good form recently," Utseya said. "We will give it our best, and try and put pressure on Bangladesh," he added.
Bangladesh has dominated Zimbabwe on the cricket field over the past six years, winning 21 out of their 32 one-day matches.
On Sunday, Zimbabwe beat a Bangladesh Cricket Board XI by 192 runs - with Brendan Taylor smashing 139, and Tatenda Taibu hitting 68 - after losing the first warm-up matches by four wickets two days earlier.
Bangladesh allrounder Shakib Al Hasan, who has been retained to stand in for injured skipper Mashrafee bin Mortaza, said his side was not underestimating Zimbabwe.
"Both teams have a 50-50 chance at winning," Hasan said Monday.
Hasan - the 2009 Wisden test player of the year - also led Bangladesh to the 4-1 series win against Zimbabwe in August.
Hasan said the only worry for the Bangladesh camp was that the side has not played any one-day games since the winning series in Zimbabwe.
Both sides, who were to hold practice sessions Monday at Mirpur, said they would announce teams before the start of the day-night match the next day.
Bangladesh coach Jamie Siddons, meanwhile, said he planned to go with four spinners and three seamers.
Bangladeshi selectors recalled left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak - who recovered from an ankle injury - while naming a 14-member squad for the first three matches. Paceman Shahadat Hossain also replaced Syed Rasel.
Zimbabwe included two rookie pace bowlers - Trevor Garwe and Kyle Jarvis - in a 16-man squad. Former captain Taibu is also back in the side after serving a 10-match suspension.
The next two one-day matches will be held Oct. 29 and 31 at Mirpur, while the last two will be played Nov. 3 and 5 in the southern port of Chittagong.
Squads
Bangladesh: Shakib Al Hasan (captain), Mushfiqur Rahim, Tamim Iqbal, Zunaed Siddique, Mohammad Ashraful, Roqibul Hassan, Mahmud Ullah Riyad, Naeem Islam, Enamul Haque, Rubel Hossain, Dollar Mahmud, Shahadat Hossain, Abdur Razzak, Nazmul Hossain.
Zimbabwe: Prosper Utseya (captain), Tatenda Taibu, Mark Vermeulen, Brendan Taylor, Hamilton Masakadza, Stuart Matsikenyeri, Chris Mpofu, Sean Williams, Charles Coventry, Elton Chigumbura, Graeme Cremer, Forster Mutizwa, Malcolm Waller, Raymond Price, Trevor Garwe, Kyle Jarvis. - Sapa-AP
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