(ICC) Tendai Chatara and Sikandar Raza each claimed three scalps to give Zimbabwe the upper hand against Bangladesh on the second day of the first of two Tests between the sides.
The home side folded for just 143, giving Zimbabwe a lead of 139 which they extended by one run without loss before bad light intervened.
The visitors started the day at 236/5, with Peter Moor and Regis Chakabva at the crease. They looked primed to go past 300, but suffered a batting collapse to fold for 282.
Left-arm orthodox spinner Taijul Islam, with figures of 6/108, helped Bangladesh claim the honours in the morning session. He dismissed Chatara and Kyle Jarvis off back-to-back deliveries, and will be on a hat-trick when he comes on to bowl in the third innings.
Moor remained unbeaten on 63, helping Zimbabwe reach a fighting total after Sean Williams scored an impressive 88 on the first day. Their last four batsmen fell for single-digit scores, adding just 11 runs between them.
Bangladesh had a nightmarish start to their innings, losing Liton Das and Imrul Kayes for scores of 9 and 5, while Nazmul Hossain Shanto struggled on his comeback to the Bangladesh side, returning to the pavilion for a run-a-ball 5 after edging Chatara to Chakabva. The seamer then dismissed Mahmudullah for a duck one ball later, thereby reducing the hosts to 19/4 within 10 overs.
Mushfiqur Rahim, who replaced Mahmudullah, tried to stabilize the innings with his 54-ball 31. He stitched small but important 30- and 22-run partnerships with Monimul and Ariful Haque before falling to the pacey Kyle Jarvis in the 29th over.
Ariful, who remained unbeaten at 41, was the only bright spot of an otherwise forgettable batting performance from Bangladesh. Mehidy Hasan, who came to the crease after Rahim’s dismissal, was the last Bangladesh batsman to reach a double-digit score. He added 21 runs in 33 balls before falling caught and bowled to Williams.
Taijul Islam, Nazmul Islam and Abu Jayed, the last three batsmen of the hosts’ batting lineup, were dismissed for 8, 4 and 0 respectively. Sikandar Raza, along with Chatara, was excellent on the day, picking up three scalps in his 12-over spell.