A disciplined effort was key in Zimbabwe's dominant display on Day 1 of their first Test against Bangladesh in Sylhet on Sunday, bowling coach Charl Langeveldt said.

Langeveldt's side executed their plans with precision, dismissing Bangladesh for a modest 191 and ending the day with an unbroken 67-run opening stand at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium today.

Bangladesh's batting, in stark contrast, lacked both discipline and consistency. Despite batting-friendly conditions, the home side threw away promising starts — a recurring problem in recent matches.

While the Zimbabwean bowlers earned their stripes with a disciplined effort, a few dropped chances ultimately denied them a bigger advantage.

Two key missed opportunities shifted the shape of Bangladesh's innings.

Mominul Haque, dropped on zero, went on to score a gritty 56 — a knock that stabilized the innings after an early wobble. Similarly, Jaker Ali was reprieved on 14 and added vital runs down the order. Those lapses may not have cost Zimbabwe the upper hand, but they certainly delayed what could've been an earlier wrap-up.

Despite those errors, Zimbabwe's bowling attack delivered with impressive control and intent.

Charl Langeveldt was quick to credit his players' application:

"It was a great day for Zimbabwe cricket. The bowlers were too short early on, but we corrected that. Once we removed Shanto [Najmul Hossain], the collapse followed. It was a good, disciplined day."

He praised Victor Nyauchi's role in breaking through early:

"Nyauchi bowled to a good gameplan, got two nicks early. Blessing's [Muzarabani] aggression and bounce caught them off guard — he's been brilliant in the last few Tests."

Leading the pace attack, Blessing Muzarabani bowled with menace, claiming the key wickets of Shanto and Mehidy Hasan Miraz with bounce and aggression.

"Aggression and hitting the right areas is important, and Blessing did just that. This is the quickest wicket I've seen in Bangladesh," Langeveldt added.

Bangladesh once again crumbled after a decent start. Shadman Islam and Mahmudul Hasan Joy showed some early resistance but were removed in quick succession by Nyauchi, exposing the middle order.

Shanto and Mominul temporarily steadied the ship with a 66-run stand, but a rash shot from Shanto and a soft dismissal from Mushfiqur Rahim — now 11 innings without a fifty — triggered a familiar collapse.

Mominul's fifty was a bright spot, but his dismissal playing a loose shot summed up Bangladesh's batting woes.

"I call it mental errors," said Langeveldt. "It can happen in any line-up, but you have to stay disciplined."

Zimbabwe's openers then demonstrated precisely what was missing from Bangladesh's innings — patience and purpose. Brian Bennett and Ben Curran batted confidently to reach 67 without loss at stumps, cutting the deficit to 124.

Langeveldt praised their resolve:  "Our guys stuck to their gameplans. It was a tough session, but we did well."

With a deficit of 124 and all ten wickets in hand, Zimbabwe will look to capitalise on their strong start on Day Two.