By Zim Sport Live Writer
Opening batter Innocent Kaia marked his return to Zimbabwe’s Test side with a composed unbeaten 76 after young seamer Newman Nyamhuri claimed a career-best four-wicket haul to put the hosts in command on the opening day of the one-off Test against Bangladesh at Harare Sports Club on Sunday.
Zimbabwe ended the day on 136 for one, just four runs behind Bangladesh’s first-innings total of 140, after captain Richard Ngarava elected to bowl first on his debut as Test skipper.
Returning to the Test side for the first time since February 2023, Kaia produced a patient innings of 76 not out from 108 deliveries, striking nine boundaries to guide Zimbabwe’s strong reply.
He first shared an opening stand of 89 with Ben Curran, who made 42 before edging Khaled Ahmed to Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto at second slip.
Kaia then combined with veteran Brendan Taylor (17 not out) in an unbroken 47-run partnership to leave Zimbabwe firmly in control at stumps.
Earlier, Nyamhuri starred with the ball, finishing with career-best figures of 4-61 as Bangladesh collapsed spectacularly from 113 for two to 140 all out, losing their final eight wickets for just 27 runs.
The left-arm pacer received excellent support from Ngarava (2-18), Blessing Muzarabani (2-19) and Brad Evans (2-30) in a disciplined Zimbabwe bowling display.
Bangladesh appeared well placed after Mominul Haque scored 60 and shared a 77-run partnership with Shadman Islam (20) for the third wicket.
However, Nyamhuri triggered a dramatic collapse when Haque edged to second slip before Zimbabwe’s pace attack ripped through the visitors’ middle and lower order.
Only Haque, Islam and Shanto (19) reached double figures as Bangladesh’s highly-rated batting line-up, fresh from a 2-0 Test series victory over Pakistan, struggled against Zimbabwe’s relentless attack.
With nine wickets in hand and just four runs separating the two teams, Zimbabwe will look to build a substantial first-innings lead when play resumes on Monday.