New Zealand v Bangladesh, 2nd T20I: 5 Talking Points

Colin Munro smashed a wonderful century as New Zealand completed the clean sweep against Bangladesh in the third and final T20I at Napier. While Munro went about setting Napier ablaze, it was quite clear that the support had to come from someone else as well. This someone proved to be Tom Bruce, the newest inclusion in the side who helped himself to an impressive 59. However, this also saw only these two make their starts count as they accounted for over eighty percent of the runs amassed by the Kiwis on the day.

As for Bangladesh, there were once again just a handful of performers on the day who were able to impress. These performers included Sabbir Rahman and Soumya Sarkar with the bat while Rubel Hossain impressed with some decent death bowling. However, the 47-run win was evidence of the lack of synergy in the side as we take a quick look at the Talking Points from the day’s play.

1. Colin Munro sets Napier ablaze

When Colin Munro gets going, he is an incredibly difficult person to stop. Of course, his batting performances is always subject to the fact that he strikes the ball well, but there is a simple fact that makes Munro become one of the most important aspects of the whole ordeal. Moreover, the way he batted in Napier also ensured that the dependence on him is quite high.

Munro’s batting can generally see two extremes. These two extremes involve some incredible batting, to say the least. The southpaw managed 7 boundaries and 7 sixes as the New Zealand side managed to move ahead and surge to what would be a decent total at the close of play.

2. Tom Bruce joins in with impressive half-century

While Munro was batting like the world simply had no end, he was supported by Tom Bruce, one of three players who managed to get his score into double figures. He has also taken to international cricket like a duck to water. What this signifies is also the fact that Bruce has only played against Bangladesh, but they are an incredibly impressive opposition and are formidable as well. Bruce played second fiddle for the most part of the innings whilst Munro was batting before launching an assault on his own. His compilation of 59 included a massive six as well as a plethora of boundaries. Needless to say, he was the tipping factor on the day.

3. Rubel Hossain marks return with incredible death bowling performance

Rubel Hossain has been away from Test cricket, for the most part, courtesy of his malpractices in the Bangladesh Premier League. However, Hossain’s come back into the grand scheme of things ensured that he was an impressive product of the entire ordeal, to say the least. He picked three wickets towards the death and was also involved in a run-out, meaning that he has certainly spent his time rather productively. Similar to Tom Bruce, Hossain’s international career could very well take off from here.

4. Sabbir Rahman and Soumya Sarkar build crucial partnership

Sabbir Rahman and Soumya Sarkar’s partnership was the only thing to rejoice about as far as the batting performances of Bangladesh was concerned. However, this was also coupled with the fact that the rest of the order crumbled like a cookie. The duo initially saved the visitors from their blushes and also ensured that they were on the right trail to even secure a win at one point of the chase. However, the duo exhibited incredible character on the day as they went ahead and impressed with some tremendous batting acumen. Sabbir managed 48 while Soumya Sarkar managed 39 as they added 68 runs for the fourth wicket.

5. New Zealand completes clean sweep

The 47-run win ensured that the Kiwis did indeed complete an impressive win on the day. However, this also sees them complete a 3-0 clean sweep over a side that is certainly rising over the horizon in the overall context of the play. Moreover, there is also a certain fact of the ordeal that sees Williamson’s men pick themselves back up following a mixed bag of results in recent times. Moreover, there is also solace in the fact that they will now have a crack at the Bangladeshis in the Test arena, something they will be looking to get their stock upwards as well.