NZ v BAN, 3rd ODI Review: Broom, Williamson lead hosts to clean sweep

The action moved to Nelson for the final ODI of the 3-match series. New Zealand were keen on completing the whitewash and Bangladesh had nothing but pride to play for. The hosts had been thoroughly convincing in the series. At the same time, the visitors were found highly inconsistent throughout the series with their batting letting them down time and again. They were in a place to win the second ODI but threw it away eventually.

Coming into the third match, they had their last opportunity in the ODI series but the story remained the same. Careless batting, barring the openers, saw Bangladesh go down yet again despite the solid start. New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson led from the front with an unbeaten 95 to notch up the most convincing win of the series. An 8-wicket win summed up their series win of 3-0.

Earlier in the day, it was Mashrafe Mortaza who had won the toss and opted to bat first. They got the big boost of Mustafizur Rahman, who was brought in at the expense of Subhasis Roy. New Zealand opted to play an extra spinner in Jeetan Patel. They also rested their strike bowler Trent Boult. Lockie Ferguson and Boult made way for Patel and Matt Henry in the playing eleven.

Bangladeshi openers Tamim Iqbal and Imrul Kayes walked to the crease as Jeetan Patel was surprisingly handed the new ball with Tim Southee. Iqbal and Kayes found it easy to score runs on the day. Much like the previous ODI, the openers gave a solid start to the Bangladeshi batting.

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Scoring at a brisk rate, Bangladesh raced to the 100-run mark and the opening stand looked good for more. The partnership was broken in the 22nd over when Imrul Kayes was dismissed by Mitchell Santner on 44 (62). Sabbir Rahman was the new man in. A flurry of boundaries from his bat showed great promise. Rahman’s 14-ball 19 was studded with 4 gorgeous shots. It was Matt Henry who then sent him packing to bring Mahmudullah at the crease.

Southee made short work of Mahmudullah (3) as Shakib Al Hasan walked in at number 5. Meanwhile, Tamim Iqbal notched up his fifty in the 24th over to keep the Bangladesh ship sailing. However, he could not score much after that and consumed quite a few deliveries after easing past his fifty. He was eventually dismissed by Jimmy Neesham on 59 (88). The middle overs choked the runs for the visitors. Shakib also struggled for his 35-ball 18 runs.

Mosaddek Hossain Saikat perished soon on 11. As wickets kept tumbling at one end, Nurul Hasan gave the much-needed impetus towards the end. A 39-ball 44 with 3 fours and a six by Nurul Hasan helped Bangladesh finish on 236/9 in their 50 overs. For the New Zealand side, Santner and Henry were the pick of the bowlers with 2 wickets each.

The target was not a daunting one but the Kiwis had early jolts coming into the run chase. Mustafizur Rahman struck gold when he dismissed Tom Latham for just 4 in the 2nd over. Kane Williamson joined Martin Guptill at the crease. In the very next over, Guptill was seen struggling with his running and decided to walk off retired hurt on 6.

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Neil Broom, the star of the last match joined Williamson. The duo then plundered runs at will to help the Kiwis sailing. It was some splendid batting on display as New Zealand inched towards the 200-run mark. It was only a shame that Neil Broom could not get to his century and was dismissed on run-a-ball 97 (12 fours and a six) by Mustafizur Rahman.

In walked James Neesham and looked in a hurry to finish things off. He did exactly that with an unbeaten 23-ball 28 to see New Zealand win by 8 wickets with 52 balls to spare. His exploit, however, saw Williamson stranded on unbeaten 95 (116 balls, 9 fours and a six) as Kiwis finished a clinical clean sweep.

Here is what James Neesham has to say on finishing the game and leaving Williamson stranded on 95

Brief Scores:

Bangladesh: 236/9 in 50 overs (Tamim 59, Nurul 44, Santner 2/38, Henry 2/53)

New Zealand: 239/2 in 41.2 overs (Broom 97, Williamson 95*, Mustafizur 2/32)