Bangladesh and Zimbabwe will face each other in the opening match of the ODI tri-series in the UAE on October 17 in Abu Dhabi. Zimbabwe will enter the contest with confidence after defeating Bangladesh in their recent Test and ODI series. Bangladesh, meanwhile, will look to bounce back and start the tri-series with a victory. Zimbabwe recently lost their ODI series against Australia 3-0 but gave the world champions a tough fight in the third match, losing by just one wicket. Bangladesh will welcome back several key players, with Litton Das returning as ODI captain. However, fast bowler Nahid Rana remains unavailable due to injury. Litton will be eager to lead from the front after an impressive recent Test performance. Evans has been in excellent form in 2026 and took four wickets for 47 runs against Australia in Zimbabwe's previous ODI series. He could be a major threat to Bangladesh's batting lineup.
Pitch Report:
The Abu Dhabi pitch is generally slow during day-night matches, offering some assistance to bowlers as the game progresses. The average first-innings score across the last five ODIs at the venue has been around 266 runs, with four teams winning after batting first. Heat and humidity could also affect the players.
Head-to-Head
Total matches: 84
Bangladesh won: 52
Zimbabwe won: 32
Bangladesh Probable Playing XIs: Tanzid Hasan, Soumya Sarkar, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Towhid Hridoy, Litton Das (C/WK), Mosaddek Hossain, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taskin Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud, Shoriful Islam, Tanvir Islam.
Zimbabwe Probable Playing XIs: Brian Bennett, Ben Curran, Innocent Kaia, Brendan Taylor (WK), Craig Ervine, Sikandar Raza (C), Ryan Burl/Wessly Madhevere, Brad Evans, Graeme Cremer, Newman Nyamhuri, Blessing Muzarabani.