‘It was more nerves of wanting to get over the line’ – Craig Ervine on historic Test victory over Bangladesh at Sylhet

Zimbabwe created history by winning the first Test match in the last four years this season after their victory against Bangladesh at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium and taking the lead in the two-match Test series under the inspiring leadership of Craig Ervine.

This was a thrilling game between two sides who have been struggling to make an impact in this format. The game went on for four days, where the bowlers dominated most of the game. In the end, the Zimbabwe team emerged victorious by chasing down a target of 174.

The Chevrons’ skipper Craig Ervine also discussed the game and openly said that the dressing room was nervous looking at how the game was panning out and also talked about the importance of the early wickets in the second innings and the performance of Blessing Muzarabani who was also the player of the match in the end.

“The change room is going to be nervous. We are not familiar to being in these sorts of positions, chasing in the fourth innings. It was more nerves of wanting to get over the line, wanting the win more than anything else. We wanted to get early wickets. Getting Shanto out as early as that in the first over, was great for us. I thought the way Bless (Blessing Muzarabani) started was outstanding. He gave us the opportunity to put the squeeze on. Jaker Ali played a really good role at the bottom end,” Ervine told as quoted by Cricbuzz.

Felt seamers would play a big role in the game: Ervine

Ervine also opened up on the conditions during the match and how they changed with time in the match as well. The left-handed batter said that he expected the surface to help the seamers and talked about how the seam attack helped them to take control the game in the end.

“We expected there to be a little bit of grass. We saw that in the game against Sri Lanka (last year). Looking at the history in Sylhet, there is a possibility of preparing turning wickets. We saw a bit of grass in the few days of practice here. We weren’t too sure how it was going to play. We felt that seamers would play a big role in it,” Ervine said.

Also Read: BAN vs ZIM 2025, 1st Test Day 4 Review: Zimbabwe win a Test after four years as they beat Bangladesh by three wickets

“Blessing was our strike bowler in this Test match. I was giving him short bursts. I thought Richie [Richard Ngarava] and Vicky [Victor Nyauchi] had important roles holding the attack. Welly [Wessly Madhavere] bowled well too. In between those spells, it was important not to leak too many runs. When Blessing came back and bowled in the majority of his spells, he caused a lot of problems, I think he’d( Blessing) be up there. He has the experience through red ball and playing various leagues. He has the mindset. He has shown his ability. I am really excited to see where he goes in his career in all formats,” the Zimbabwe captain concluded.

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