Zimbabwe defeated Bangladesh in the first ODI in Zimbabwe by 25 runs, taking a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. Zimbabwe batted first after losing the toss and got all out on 141 in 36.4 overs. Ben Curran (18) was the first player to be dismissed at 36 runs. Brian Bennett (17) was also dismissed at 36 runs.

After dismissing both openers in seven overs, Zimbabwe were at 70/8. Later on, Richard Ngarava and Newman Nyamhuri made a partnership of 63 runs off the ninth wicket in 81 balls, making their total above 100.

Newman Nyamhuri scored 33 with five fours, while their skipper Richard Ngarava scored 27. Innocent Kaia made 26. For Bangladesh, Nahid Rana took 6 wickets giving only 21 runs in ten overs. Taskin Ahmed took 2 wickets, while Mehidy Hasan took one wicket.

In response, Bangladesh were bowled out for 116 runs in 33.1 overs. The team lost three wickets at the score of 17. From there, Towhid Hridoy tried to revive Bangladesh by sharing a 49-run partnership from 88 balls for the fourth wicket with Nurul Hasan, but the team collapsed after the pair broke.

Towhid was dismissed for 25 runs with one four, while Nurul scored 31 runs from 44 balls with one six and three fours. Captain Mehdi Hasan contributed 10 runs to the team's account. Apart from these, no other batsman could reach double figures. Richard Ngarava and Brad Evans took three wickets each for the hosts. Blessing Muzarabani and Newman Nyamhuri took one wicket each.

Zimbabwe recently won the only Test match against Bangladesh by an innings and 85 runs. The remaining ODIs will be played on the same ground on July 9 and 11, followed by a three-match T20I series from July 15 to 19.