Bangladesh vs. Zimbabwe 3rd Test: Date, Live Stream, TV Info and Preview

Bangladesh and Zimbabwe meet for the third Test of the series this week, with the home side carrying an unassailable 2-0 lead. 

Venue: Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chittagong

Commences: Wednesday, Nov. 12

Start time: 3:30 a.m. GMT (9:30 a.m. local)

Live on: GTV (Bangladesh), SuperSport (Zimbabwe and sub-Saharan Africa), Star Cricket (India), Geo Super (Pakistan), Willow TV (USA)

Weather: The Weather Channel is forecasting a hot and dry week for the third Test of this series, with temperatures set to hover around the 30 degree Celsius-mark for all five days. 

Overview

A.M. Ahad/Associated Press

Finally, the torture has come to an end for Bangladesh. A calendar year that has brought a plethora of severe thrashings and little else has relented somewhat, with Mushfiqur Rahim's side claiming consecutive Test victories over Zimbabwe in Dhaka and Khulna to halt the nightmare of 2014. 

Prior to this series, Bangladesh had won just two of their 27 international matches across all formats this year, both of which came against Associates in Afghanistan and Nepal at the ICC World Twenty20. 

That staggeringly dismal run, combined with an array of controversies and publicised internal disputes, had made the current year one of the worst in the nation's short history and suggested Bangladesh were as far away as they've ever been to challenging the game's established teams. 

Of course, two wins over fellow strugglers Zimbabwe hardly indicates the situation has changed, but it's enough to ease the pain a little. 

And with the third Test set to commence, Bangladesh will like their chances of completing a clean sweep of the series, given the dominance of the hosts' spinners so far. 

Squads

Bangladesh

Mushfiqur Rahim (c/wk), Tamim Iqbal, Shakib Al Hasan, Imrul Kayes, Mominul Haque, Rubel Hossain, Shuvagata Hom, Mahmudullah, Shafiul Islam, Jubair Hossain, Shahadat Hossain, Marshall Ayub, Taijul Islam, Anamul Haque

Zimbabwe 

Brendan Taylor (c), Regis Chakabva (wk), Brian Chari, Tendai Chatara, Elton Chigumbura, Craig Ervine, Tafadzwa Kamungozi, Hamilton Masakadza, Shingi Masakadza, Wellington Masakadza, Natsai M'shangwe, Richmond Mutumbami, John Nyumbu, Tinashe Panyangara, Vusi Sibanda, Sikandar Raza, Malcolm Waller

Key Players

Bangladesh

A.M. Ahad/Associated Press

By far his team's finest, Shakib Al Hasan became only the third player in Test history behind Sir Ian Botham and Imran Khan to score a century and claim 10 wickets in the same match when he achieved the feat in last week's second Test. 

After crunching his 137 in quick time, the 27-year-old tied the Zimbabwean batsmen in knots with his left-arm spin, propelling the home side to a comprehensive victory. 

Anything similar from Shakib in the third Test in Chittagong will see another easy win for Bangladesh. 

Zimbabwe

Two knocks from Hamilton Masakadza and Regis Chakabva aside, Zimbabwe's batting has been awful in this series, consistently folding when presented with the home side's spin-based attack. 

For that to change, and for the visitors to stand any chance of reversing the script in the third Test, captain Brendon Taylor is the one who must lead the way after compiling a trio of unfilled starts thus far.

Prediction

Bangladesh could be excused if they were to take their foot off the pedal in this third encounter, given the series has already been won. 

But with Mushfiqur's men so much more suited to the conditions on offer, it's hard to see how Zimbabwe can conjure an overnight response to the hosts' attack led by Shakib and Taijul Islam. 

Provided there isn't any sort of hangover effect for Bangladesh, they should make it three wins on the trot this week in Chittagong.