Tri series, BAN v NZ, Match 6 Review: Fifties from Tamim, Sabbir help Bangladesh script history

The stage was set in Dublin for the final match of the tri-series. New Zealand took on Bangladesh in the final game on the tour in a bid to finalize their permutations and combinations ahead of the Champions Trophy. The Bangladesh camp had a similar agenda on their mind as well as they got into the game. They had a bigger picture in mind too.

The Bangladeshis were beaten badly when the two sides had earlier locked horns in the series. Moreover, the fact that they had never won an away or neutral game against the Kiwi side in the history of the game was on their mind too. However, as the things perspired on the day, some spirited batting by the Bangladeshi top order saw the team script history as they beat New Zealand by 5 wickets.

The team will now surely be high on confidence as they enter the Champions Trophy. They will lock horns with England in the series opener on June 1. On the other hand, for the Kiwis, the defeat will surely hurt them big time. Coming into the game, Mashrafe Mortaza had won the toss and opted to field first. The move seemed right as Mustafizur Rahman struck early in the 4th over to send Luke Ronchi on 2.

Neil Broom was promoted to number 3 slot as he joined Tom Latham at the crease. The two batsmen negotiated the seaming conditions. A marathon stand was on the cards for the Kiwi camp. The duo notched up their respective fifties as they took the Kiwi camp over the 150-run mark. However, both batsmen perished in quick succession and that hurt the New Zealand’s momentum. The 133 run stand was broken in the 29th over when Brook was dismissed by Nasir Hossain on 63 that came of 76 deliveries with 7 fours. An over later, Nasir Hossain dismissed Latham on 84 that came off 92 balls with 11 boundaries.

Ross Taylor and Corey Anderson then joined hands to rebuild the innings from 167/3 in 30.1 overs. Anderson struggled against the moving ball but Taylor looked comfortable. Anderson perished after scoring 24 off 32 balls as Shakib Al Hasan sent him packing. Wickets then started to fall in clusters as the innings dwindled big time. However, an unbeaten 60 off 56 balls with 6 fours from Ross Taylor helped New Zealand post 270/8 in their 50 overs. Shakib, Nasir, and Mortaza bagged 2 wickets each.

And the run chase…

In the run chase, Bangladesh had a horrible start as Soumya Sarkar, the hero of their previous game, perished for a golden duck in the very first over bowled by Jeetan Patel. Sabbir Rahman and Tamim Iqbal then did the task of getting the innings together. The two batsmen took their time to settle in before taking the counter attack to the opposition.

With a mammoth 136 run stand to their credit for the second wicket, they ensured that the Asian team was in the hunt. Much like the Kiwi innings, the Bangladeshi innings also saw both set batsmen get out in quick succession. Tamim was dismissed on 65 that came off 80 balls (6 fours, 1 six) by Mitchell Santner in the 27th over. Sabbir got an identical 65 too, which came off 83 balls with 9 fours and was dismissed in the 29th over as a result of a terrible miscommunication.

Mosaddek Hossain Saikat could not do much on the day and departed with just 10 runs to his name and became Jeetan’s second scalp of the day. Senior pros Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib Al Hasan then joined hands to steer the run chase. Shakib walked back to the hut after scoring 19 but Mushfiqur continued. He was well supported by Mahmudullah who accelerated things towards the end.

An unbeaten 72-run stand between them saw Bangladesh topple the total with 5 wickets in hand and 10 balls to spare. Mushfiqur scored an unbeaten run-a-ball 45 with 3 fours and a six. Mahmudullah bludgeoned 46 off 36 balls with 6 fours and a six.

Brief Scores:

New Zealand 270/8 in 50 overs (Latham 84, Broom 63, Shakib 2/41, Nasir 2/47)

Bangladesh 271/5 in 48.2 overs (Tamim 65, Sabbir 65, Jeetan 2/55, Bennett 1/47)

Check full scorecard here.