Zimbabwe recorded the biggest victory in their Test history after defeating Bangladesh by an innings and 85 runs on the third day of the one-off Test in Harare.
The hosts completed the dominant victory after dismissing Bangladesh for 185 in their second innings, having secured a commanding first-innings lead of 270 runs. It was also the first time Zimbabwe had won two successive Test matches by an innings margin, following their innings-and-73-run victory over Afghanistan at the same venue in October 2025.
Bangladesh resumed the day on 40 for one but quickly slipped to 46 for three as Blessing Muzarabani struck twice in the opening four overs. The fast bowler removed overnight batters Mahmudul Hasan Joy and Mominul Haque with disciplined bowling that mixed testing back-of-a-length deliveries with fuller balls.
Joy was caught at gully after a length delivery climbed sharply and took the shoulder of his bat. Mominul then edged a drive to third slip, where Brad Evans produced a diving catch to his left.
Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mushfiqur Rahim briefly resisted with a partnership of 61 runs. Shanto played positively, taking advantage of scoring opportunities through the leg side and cover, while Mushfiqur adopted a more cautious approach, absorbing pressure as the pair guided Bangladesh beyond 100.
The stand ended when Newman Nyamhuri bowled Shanto for 30 from 41 balls. Attempting to drive a low full toss, the left-hander inside-edged the ball onto his stumps.
Mushfiqur followed shortly before lunch after edging a leg-side delivery from Muzarabani behind for 34. Soon after the interval, Towhid Hridoy edged another length ball from the paceman to third slip, giving Muzarabani his fourth wicket. He was denied a fifth when Brian Bennett dropped a sharp chance offered by Taijul Islam at gully in the following over.
Amit Hasan and Taijul added 34 runs for the seventh wicket to delay the inevitable before Evans had Taijul caught behind attempting to deal with a short delivery down the leg side. Richard Ngarava then removed two more batters in the next over as Bangladesh's innings unravelled.
Although Muzarabani missed out on a five-wicket haul, he completed the final dismissal by taking a running catch at mid-on after Hasan Mahmud miscued a pull off Nyamhuri.
Zimbabwe's seam attack claimed all 10 wickets in Bangladesh's second innings, repeating their first-innings feat. It was only the second time in Zimbabwe's Test history that all 20 opposition wickets had fallen to pace bowlers. The only previous instance came against Pakistan in Rawalpindi in 1993, although Zimbabwe lost that match.
Earlier, Zimbabwe had piled up 410 in reply to Bangladesh's first-innings total of 140. Innocent Kaia led the effort with a maiden Test century, scoring 140, while Wessly Madhevere remained unbeaten on 77. For Bangladesh, Taijul Islam claimed seven wickets for 138 runs.
Kaia, whose innings alone matched Bangladesh's first-innings total, was named Player of the Match.
Scoreboard: Zimbabwe 410 (Innocent Kaia 140, Wessly Madhevere 77 not out; Taijul Islam 7-138) beat Bangladesh 140 (Mominul Haque 60; Newman Nyamhuri 4-61, Richard Ngarava 2-18) and 185 (Mushfiqur Rahim 34; Blessing Muzarabani 4-65, Richard Ngarava 3-32) by an innings and 85 runs.
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