A disappointed Bangladesh skipper Mahmadullah pointed the finger at a mediocre batting display from his side and called for a big improvement before game two in Napier on Tuesday.
An unbeaten 92 from Devon Conway and a four-wicket burst from Ish Sodhi ensured New Zealand romped to victory by 66 runs in the opening Twenty20 in Hamilton on Sunday.
"We have let ourselves down in our batting department," Bangladesh captain said after another defeat in New Zealand which means the Tigers are still winless against the hosts in their backyards despite playing 30 games in all the format of the games .
Mohammad Naim made an enterprising start to the Bangladesh reply with two boundaries off the opening over from Tim Southee.
But once the tourists reached 39 in the fifth over the innings fell apart as first Lockie Ferguson removed Naim for 27 and then Sodhi suffocated the momentum with his four wickets in eight deliveries. At the end of their 20 overs Bangladesh were 144 for eight and Sodhi had the impressive figures of four for 28.
"Ish (Sodhi) is an experienced campaigner, he uses conditions really well, the ball was gripping a little bit here but we can't make the same mistakes again and again," Mahmudullah added.
"Loosing wickets in clusters will not help us in the game. One positive thing I like to take is the intent was there. It was good thing to see. In T20 games It might happen, a side can have bowled out 100 or 120. But it’s important to show the willingness of winning the game," said the Bangladesh captain.
Bangladesh gave opportunities to debutant Nasum Ahmed and Shoriful Islam in the playing XI while veteran Mushfiqur Rahim was left out due to a shoulder injury.
On the other hand, New Zealand went into the match without six frontline players including Kane Williamson and Trent Boult and stand-in captain Tim Southee said it was pleasing to see the new blood perform with the bat.
BRIEF SCORE: New Zealand 210 for 3 (Conway 92*, Young 53, Nasum 2-30) beat Bangladesh 144 for 8 (Afif 45, Saifuddin 34*, Sodhi 4-28, Ferguson 2-25) by 66 runs
"Devon is just carrying on what he's done at this level, making it look extremely easy," Southee said with Conway now having four fifties and a 65.42 average from 12 Twenty20s.
Conway, whose rollicking innings included 11 fours and three sixes, shared in a 105-run stand with debutant Will Young (53), as New Zealand posted an impressive 210 after winning the toss and electing to bat.
"It's great to be able to see guys come in and perform. If you had five or six guys out a few years ago we would be scratching around but there's a number of guys now knocking on the door," added Southee.
The second and third T20I will take place on Tuesday and Thursday respectively.
SQUADS:
New Zealand: 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Finn Allen, 3 Devon Conway (wk), 4 Will Young, 5 Glenn Phillips, 6 Mark Chapman, 7 Daryl Mitchell, 8 Tim Southee (capt), 9 Ish Sodhi, 10 Hamish Bennett, 11 Lockie Ferguson.
Bangladesh: 1 Liton Das (wk), 2 Mohammad Naim, 3 Soumya Sarkar, 4 Mohammad Mithun, 5 Mahmudullah (capt), 6 Afif Hossain, 7 Mohammad Saifuddin, 8 Mahedi Hasan, 9 Nasum Ahmed, 10 Shoriful Islam, 11 Mustafizur Rahman.
