Bangladesh recorded their maiden overseas win against New Zealand when they beat the Kiwis by five wickets in the tri-nation series in Dublin, Ireland yesterday.
In pursuit of New Zealand’s 270 runs for the loss eight wickets, the Tigers reached their destination with 10 balls remaining.
Despite the loss, the Kiwis (12 points) clinched the tri-series by two points with Bangladesh finishing second.
Opening batsman Tamim Iqbal (65 off 80 balls) and No 3 Sabbir Rahman (65 off 83 deliveries) led the way with brisk half-centuries. Together, the second wicket pair of Tamim and Sabbir added 136 valuable runs to lay the foundation for the win. Tamim struck half a dozen fours and a six while Sabbir hammered nine boundaries.
Later, wicketkeeper-batsman Mushfiqur Rahim (45) and all-rounder Mahmudullah (46) remained unbeaten to guide the Tigers home. Mushfiq struck three fours and a six while Mahmudullah blasted five fours and a six.
The unbroken sixth wicket partnership of Mushfiq and Mahmudullah stitched together 72 vital runs to ensure Bangladesh’s first ever away win against the Kiwis.
The Tigers recovered from the early departure of the in-form opener Soumya Sarkar, who departed without troubling the scorers. Youngster Mosaddek Hossain (10) and all-rounder Shakib al Hasan (19) were also dismissed for low scores but the Tigers recuperated from the quick dismissals, thanks to Mushfiq and all-rounder Mahmudullah.
Kiwi off-spinner Jeetan Patel picked up two wickets while pacer Hamish Bennett and left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner bagged one apiece.
Earlier, the Tigers won the toss and decided to field first. Bangladesh’s bowlers fought back to restrict New Zealand to 270/8 and give themselves a chance of claiming their first win over their opponent in the final match of the tri-series.
When the Black Caps were 208/3 in the 39th over, they were on course for a total of over 300, but the dismissal of the dangerous all-rounder Corey Anderson (24) triggered a collapse - they lost three wickets for two runs in 11 balls - and needed Ross Taylor (60 not out) to hold the innings together.
The former captain finished 60 not out from 56 balls with six fours, with wickets falling around him as New Zealand failed to build on a second-wicket stand of 133 between makeshift skipper Tom Latham (84 off 92 balls) and No 3 batsman Neil Broom (63 off 76 balls).
Stumper-batsman Luke Ronchi (two) lasted only five balls after Bangladesh won the toss with Mustafizur Rahman (1/46) breaching his defence in the second over.
Latham, on the back of his century against Ireland in their big victory on Sunday, picked up where he had left off and found the boundary ropes 11 times in his 92 ball-innings of 84.
Broom also posted a half century before sweeping all-rounder Nasir Hossain to square leg on 63. He faced 76 balls and hit seven fours.
It was Shakib who started the collapse and all-rounders Jimmy Neesham (six) and Mitchell Santner (nought) and batsman Colin Munro (one) - all big hitters - followed in successive overs.
Lower-order batsman Matt Henry was cleaned up by seamer Rubel Hossain in the 48th over and Bangladesh had the momentum going into lunch.
Shakib, Nasir and skipper Mashrafe bin Mortaza shared six wickets between themselves while Rubel and Mustafizur picked up one apiece.
Bangladesh’s win promoted them above Sri Lanka into sixth place in the ODI team ranking, four months before the cut-off date which decides the top eight sides for the next 50-over World Cup in 2019, scheduled to be hosted by England.
Thursday, April 25, 2024
