Bangladesh came out on top by making fewer mistakes, and ended up crushing Zimbabwe by 121 runs. The home side fell into a sink-hole of wickets in the middle order, from which they never recovered.
The material differences between the two teams were Nasir Hossain's timely 68, which rescued Bangladesh from their own middle-order implosion, and Ziaur Rahman's five wickets, which damaged the Zimbabwe middle-order badly. It also helped Rahman bring down his bowling average.
It was Brendan Taylor's dismissal for 33 that saw the home side slip from 78 for two in the 15th over to 148 all out in 32.1 overs.
Taylor had his offstump rattled by Razzak after batting confidently for 37 deliveries. After a short partnership, Sean Williams was run out after some hesitation with his partner Hamilton Masakadza, who fell for a promising 38 soon after. He was Ziaur Rahman's first wicket of the day, before the Bangladesh bowler dismissed Elton Chigumbura and Prosper Utseya in quick succession.
Chigumbura played a slog off his third ball, while Mominul Haque took a catch to remove Utseya for a duck. Television replays of Utseya's dismissal weren't conclusive as the umpires went to the third-umpire for a decision.
This was the worst period of play for Zimbabwe's batting as they lost 5 wickets for 15 runs in 39 balls. The last four of these wickets fell on 93, as Bangladesh took control of the game. Malcolm Waller and Shingi Masakadza added 55 runs for the eighth wicket but Ziaur broke the stand and later took the wicket of Tinashe Panyangara to complete the five-for. Robiul Islam removed Shingi who made 33 to add to his four-wicket haul.
Earlier, Nasir held the Bangladesh innings together after they were 94 for 4 in the 22nd over. It was his fifth ODI fifty, and he struck seven fours and a six in his 67-ball innings. He put together two important partnerships too. For the fifth wicket, he and Mominul Haque added 76 off 87 balls in quick time, before Nasir and Mahmudullah put together 44 runs for the sixth wicket.
Nasir's knock was the only element of the innings that wasn't riddled with mistakes, although his innings ended with a well-timed shot that was caught at deep point. But he dominated the Zimbabwe bowlers despite the situation. He found boundaries regularly, striking the ball very well and piercing the off-side field from the start.
Mominul struck three boundaries in his 66-ball 38, which was slightly slower than what was desired at the stage. And not for the first time, he was out playing a ball far from his body. All the main Bangladesh batsmen gave away their wickets to a combination of soft dismissals, poor calling and overall complacency.
It began with Tamim Iqbal, who was caught down the legside off Shingi Masakadza in the 14th over. He and Mohammad Ashraful added 65 runs quite confidently but their reticence at playing shots regularly had them getting out in such ordinary manner.
Ashraful, too, got out to a poor shot, caught at deep square-leg off Shingi's next over. Captain Mushfiqur Rahim under-edged to the wicketkeeper after chasing a wide one outside offstump from Masakadza. Three balls later, Shakib Al Hasan was run out after Mominul's poor call.
After he tapped the ball on the offside, Mominul initially called him for the single but stopped him midway through the run. Shakib slipped and before he could run, Malcolm Waller had hit the stumps with an underarm throw.
Masakadza was the best Zimbabwe bowler, taking four wickets for 51 runs. It was a frustrating morning session for the home side as they gave away 36 extras, including 18 wides. Masakadza completed his third four-wicket haul in ODIs after he clean bowled Mahmudullah. The beleaguered batsman came out at No. 7 to make 36 off 38 balls with three fours, key to their 88 runs in the final ten overs.
25 overs Zimbabwe 105 for 7 (H Masakadza 38, Ziaur 3-23) need 164 runs to beat Bangladesh 269 for 8 (Nasir 68, Shingi 4-51)
Zimbabwe slipped to 105 for 7 after 25 overs as Bangladesh slowly took charge of the first ODI in Bulawayo. The home side's batting line-up fell apart after their captain Brendan Taylor fell in the 15th over, losing four more wickets in their chase of 270.
Malcolm Waller and Shingirai Masakadza were at the crease, as they looked to minimise the damage to the innings. It was a similar collapse to Bangladesh's after they lost four wickets for 29 runs after a good start. Zimbabwe were cruising at 78 for 2 before Ziaur Rahman and Abdur Razzak struck.
Razzak took the important wicket of Taylor, rushing the ball past his bat and taking the off stump out of the ground. Taylor made 33 off 37 balls, and looked the most confident of all the batsmen. He struck four boundaries, two of which were beautiful shots through the offside.
Sean Williams was run out in the 19th over after a mix-up before Ziaur removed Hamilton Masakadza and Elton Chigumbura in the 20th over. He later added the wicket of Prosper Utseya in his next over.
Hamilton Masakadza was looking quite comfortable till then, scoring 38 off 53 balls with three fours and a six. He was trapped leg-before though he had charged Ziaur slightly. Chigumbura played the next two deliveries before swinging across the line to be cleaned up by the medium-pacer. Utseya was the seventh wicket, caught at point by Mominul Haque to give Ziaur his third wicket.
Earlier, it was Shafiul Islam who gave them the first two breakthroughs. He took the first wicket with his fourth ball of the match. Regis Chakabva dragged a wide delivery on to his stumps, his feet firmly away from the ball. In his next over, he removed debutant Sikandar Raza, uprooting the middle stump as the batsmen continued the trend of leaving a gap between bat and pad. Raza made only three, and the home side quickly slipped to 13 for 2 at the start of the fourth over.
Shafiul's first spell had cost 29 runs for those two wickets. This was his first match after suffering a stomach muscle injury before the ODI series against Sri Lanka. Robiul remained steady, but he couldn't quite use the new white ball like he did the red one in the Test series. He bowled a maiden over as he began straightening his line and keeping it closer to the batsmen.
The pace bowlers bowled five overs each in the first spell before captain Mushfiqur Rahim brought on the left-arm spinners -Razzak and Shakib Al Hasan. While the former bowled well, the latter was hammered for a four and a straight six in his first over and was promptly taken off and replaced by Ziaur.
Bangladesh 269 for 8 (Nasir 68, Shingi 4-51) v Zimbabwe
Nasir Hossain almost single-handedly gave Bangladesh a competitive total in the first ODI, lifting the visitors to 269 for 8 after they had slipped to 94 for 4 despite Zimbabwe's poor discipline with the ball.
All the top batsmen gave away their wickets through soft dismissals, poor calling or having a slog later in the innings. Shingi Masakadza was the biggest beneficiary, taking four wickets for 51 runs.
It was a frustrating morning session for the home side as they gave away 32 extras, including 18 wides. Nasir's knock was the only quality element of the innings. His 67-ball 68 rescued Bangladesh from major embarrassment, especially as this was the first completely batsman-friendly pitch on tour. Despite the middle-order collapse, Nasir batted with dominance, finding boundaries regularly. He struck the ball very well, piercing the off-side field from the start.
His energy at the crease mattered in the fifth and sixth wicket partnerships with Mominul Haque, someone still trying to get into grips with the one-day game, and Mahmudullah, an out of touch batsman. Nasir struck seven fours and a six, particularly going after Prosper Utseya. He scored 37 off 32 balls faced from the offspinner, hitting him for four boundaries and the six over long-on.
It was the Mominul-Nasir partnership that re-established Bangladesh's footing in the match. They added 76 runs for the fifth wicket, in the 14.3 overs they batted. Mominul fed Nasir much of the strike as he dropped anchor. He struck three boundaries in his 66-ball 38, which was probably slightly slower than what his team desired. The partnership was led by Nasir, as he counterattacked the Zimbabwe bowlers, though it was not too difficult against poor line and lengths.
The counterattack was much required, especially after two of the senior batsmen fell in the 22nd over. Captain Mushfiqur Rahim under-edged to the wicketkeeper after chasing a wide one outside offstump from Shingi. Three balls later, Shakib Al Hasan was duped by Mominul's poor calling: after he tapped the ball on the offside, Mominul initially called him for the single but stopped him midway through the run. Shakib slipped and before he could trun, and Malcolm Waller hit the stumps direct with an underarm throw.
It changed the complexion of the game as the visitors slipped from 65 for 0 to 94 for 4 in the space of eight overs. Tamim Iqbal and Mohammad Ashraful added those 65 runs for the first wicket before Tamim was caught down the legside off Shingi in the 14th over. He made 31 off 49 balls with four boundaries and his dismissal would have been hugely disappointing for his team. It was a bad delivery, which he should have clipped past the wicketkeeper rather than being caught.
Ashraful too got out poorly, getting caught at deep square-leg in Shingi's next over. Ashraful had crashed his fourth boundary just the ball before but then he flicked into Prosper Utseya's lap as he ran across the deep field.He made 29 off 41 balls.
Shingi completed his third four-wicket haul in ODIs after he clean bowled Mahmudullah.
The beleaguered batsman came out at No. 7 to make 36 off 38 balls with three fours, key to Bangladesh's 88 runs in the final ten overs.
Zimbabwe, who chose to bowl, fielded a very different batting line-up to the one they played in their last ODI. Debutant Sikandar Raza, Sean Williams and Elton Chigumbura were among seven changes in their side.
Bangladesh made four changes, with Shakib, Shafiul Islam and Robiul Islam vital to their bowling stocks. Robiul is making his ODI debut while Shafiul is returning from a stomach muscle injury. Shakib is playing his first ODI since March last year.
25 overs Bangladesh 111 for 4 (Mominul 14*, Nasir 11*, Masakadza 3-27) v Zimbabwe
Bangladesh had reached 111 for 4 at the 25-over mark as Zimbabwe benefited from a string of soft dismissals on a fine batting track. Zimbabwe captain Brendan Taylor, who elected to bowl after winning the toss, would have been pleased with the wickets though their bowlers were hardly accurate.
Mominul Haque and Nasir Hossain were the unbeaten batsmen, on 14 and 11 respectively. Both batsmen would look to settle down and reconstruct the Bangladesh innings.
Shingi Masakadza took the first three wickets before Shakib Al Hasan was run out by a direct hit from Malcolm Waller in the 22nd over. Two wickets fell in the over as captain Mushfiqur Rahim was also caught behind.
Mushfiqur had under-edged to the wicketkeeper after chasing a wide one outside offstump. Three balls later, Shakib was sold down the river by Mominul who refused the single after the senior batsman had come halfway down the pitch. Waller hit the stumps after running in from gully.
That completely spoiled their good start, the openers Tamim Iqbal and Mohammad Ashraful added 65 for the first wicket.
Tamim was caught down the legside off Masakadza in the 14th over. He made 31 off 49 balls with four boundaries and the manner of dismissal would have been hugely disappointing for his team. It was a poor delivery, which Tamim should have dealt with properly but his watchful approach of the morning probably cost him; if he was a bit more forceful, the same delivery would have been tickled a little squarer rather than ending up in the wicketkeeper's gloves.
Ashraful too got out poorly, getting caught at deep square-leg off Masakadza's next over. Ashraful had crashed his fourth boundary just the ball before but then he flicked into Prosper Utseya's lap as he ran across the deep field. Ashraful made 29 off 41 balls.
It was a cautious start from the Bangladesh openers, getting to 42 runs in the first 10 overs of Powerplay. Tamim and Ashraful left many balls outside the offstump as Tendai Chatara and Tinashe Panyangara bowled steadily. Tamim played the odd straight drive to find the boundary, and punched the ball past point and the covers.
Ashraful was careful to start with but started to open his shoulders as the overs wore on. There was a blast through the covers but there were anxious moments as he edged the ball a few times over and through the slip cordon.
Panyangara was playing his first ODI since 2011, and it looked like he needed time to settle himself in international cricket once again. He is the most experienced of the specialist seamers in the side, having taken 26 wickets in 25 matches previously. He was given an extended first spell, and so was Chatara as the pair bowled six overs respectively.
Zimbabwe made seven changes from their last ODI, played in the West Indies. They have brought in debutant Sikandar Raza, Sean Williams, Elton Chigumbura, Prosper Utseya, Shingirai Masakadza, Tinashe Panyangara and Tendai Chatara in place of Vusi Sibanda, Tino Mawoyo, Chamu Chibhabha, Tino Mutombodzi, Natsai Mushangwe, Kyle Jarvis and Chris Mpofu.
Bangladesh made four changes, with the return from injury of Tamim, Shakib Al Hasan and Shafiul Islam, and the inclusion of debutant Robiul Islam.
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