Prior to the start of last year, Bangladesh had never beaten the Kiwis in New Zealand across all three formats.
This first changed in the longest format when the Tigers secured a historic victory in the Mount Maunganui Test in their 11th five-dayer on New Zealand soil.
The men in red and green then brought an end to their long 18-match One Day International losing streak against the Black Caps in New Zealand, outclassing the home side by nine wickets in Saturday’s third game in Napier.
Now the tourists turn attention to the three-Twenty20 international series, starting Wednesday at the same venue where Bangladesh would be looking to record the first ever triumph in the shortest format in New Zealand in their 10th try.
The historic ODI success at McLean Park has given confidence to visiting captain Nazmul Hossain Shanto that they can halt their losing record in T20Is in New Zealand’s backyard.
“Really proud of the way the boys played this match. Before the series, we thought we could win this series. Could not win the first two games but thankfully we could win (Saturday). The bowlers learned a lot. They were bowling in the good areas, did not go looking for wickets. Pleased with how the bowlers bowled,” said Shanto, praising the bowlers for dismissing the hosts for a paltry 98.
“I did not try to smash (the bowlers), just tried to play my game and focus on my processes. This match gives us a lot of confidence but T20 is a different format, we will plan for it accordingly. We are planning to go to some places but we have to keep in mind that we need to play T20s in a few days.”
Player of the match Tanzim Hasan Sakib, who starred for the visitors registering career-best ODI figure of 3/14, expressed delight after putting in an inspired spell of quality seam bowling.
“It was really pleasant for me because we got them all out for a pretty low score, happy I could contribute to my team. In the last match, I bowled a little here and there. I had this mindset of bowling in the right areas and tried to give my 100% here,” said the young right-arm seamer.
“Wicket was very helpful for me. There was nip, swing and extra bounce for me. Really good. I am really happy with my performance. How I started - it was good for me. It really set the tone for my team. I tried to bowl wicket to wicket and tried to hold my lines and lengths. The wicket did the rest, it was great for the pace bowlers. I told myself to keep my lines and lengths right and thankfully I did.”
