Zimbabwe 5-168 (Hamilton Masakadza 59, Brendan Taylor 40, Shakib Al Hasan 2-20) beat Bangladesh 8-162 (Shakib Al Hasan 65, Shamsur Rahman 53, Tinashe Panyangara 3-32) by 6 runs.

Zimbabwe defeated Bangladesh in the first T20 by a narrow margin as the middle and lower order batting of the visitors crumbled after a solid start.

The hosts smashed 168 runs with half of their side back in the pavilion after utilizing 20 overs and Bangladesh was defined to 8-162.

Hamilton Masakadza (Zimbabwe) was announced ‘Player of the match’ for his excellent innings of 59 runs.

The first Twenty20 of the two match series was played on Saturday, May 11, 2013, at Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo.

Brendan Taylor won the toss for Zimbabwe and sent his batsmen in to take their turn first. Vusi Sibanda was gone on the third ball without scoring as Taylor associated with Hamilton Masakadza and they hit 6 fours until the close of the fifth over. Taylor was the most aggressive of the two and added 3 fours in the coming overs. He added 12 runs in the 8^th over with 1 six and 1 four but was caught by Tamim Iqbal at long off on the bowling of Shakib Al Hasan for 40 from just 25 balls. Sean Williams scored six runs and was replaced by Sikandar Raza who opened his account with a boundary.

Hamilton Masakadza got his first six in the 13^th over and smashed his 8^th T20 fifty in the 15^th over. The fourth wicket took the score to 120 in 15 overs as Sikandar Raza lost his wicket for 14 runs. Malcolm Waller dropped in next and hit a couple of fours in the following overs when Hamilton Masakadza was caught by Sohag Gazi off Shakib Al Hasan for 59 off 48 deliveries with 1 six and 4 fours. Waller remained unbeaten for 26 off 14 with 1 six and 3 fours as Zimbabwe piled up 168 for the loss of five wickets in 20 overs.

Shakib Al Hasan was the top wicket taker with two whereas Sohag Gazi, Shafiul Islam and Mahmudullah shared one wicket each.

Bangladesh lost their first wicket at two when Shakib Al Hasan got together with Shamsur Rahman. The first dispatched 5 fours until the end of the fourth over and carried on with his offence in the early overs with continuous boundaries. Shamsur Rahman followed him by accumulating 17 runs in the 9^th over with 1 six and 2 fours. The duo continued with their onslaught and the score went past the hundred runs mark in the 13^th over. Shakib Al Hasan powered his third T20 half century on the first ball of the next over and got another 2 sixes on the remaining five deliveries.

The visitors were moving towards the right direction when Prosper Utseya brought his team back in the game in the 15^th over. He removed Shakib Al Hasan for 65 off 56 with 2 lofty sixes and 8 fours whereas Shamsur Rahman was gone after scoring his maiden T20 fifty at 53 from 48 comprising 1 six and 7 fours. The skipper of the Bengal Tigers, Mushfiqur Rahim, tried to reach the target while getting a few quick boundaries whereas the wickets were sliding at regular intervals at the other end. He was the seventh batsman to be dismissed for 28 off 14 with 1 six and 2 fours as Bangladesh scored 162 for the loss of eight wickets in 20 overs.

Tinashe Panyangara was the star performer with three wickets, Prosper Utseya held two whereas Brian Vitori claimed one wicket.

Zimbabwe clinched the first T20 with a narrow margin of six runs and leads the two match series 1-0. The second Twenty20 will be played on Sunday, May 12, 2013, at the same venue.