Riding on Devon Conway’s unbeaten 70, New Zealand comfortably chased down Bangladesh’s total of 137 at Hagley Oval on Sunday, to register their first win of the tri-series.
Why were Bangladesh restricted to 137?
Their innings never really got the momentum it needed. Barring a steady second-wicket stand of 41 runs between Liton Das and Najmul Shanto, after Mehidy Hasan fell early, they never looked in control. New Zealand bowlers kept chipping in with wickets at frequent intervals, and apart from Nurul Hasan, who hit some lusty blows towards the end en route his unbeaten 12-ball 25, Bangladesh batters struggled against the hosts.
It was a collective effort from the bowling unit, with Trent Boult, Tim Southee, Michael Bracewell and Ish Sodhi picking a brace each. The collapse though was triggered by the spin duo of Sodhi and Bracewell through the middle overs, starting with the dismissal of Liton, who was earlier dropped on a duck. Just when it seemed that Bangladesh’s innings was shifting to a higher gear, Liton top edged a flat-batted pull back to Bracewell. Sodhi picked a couple more in quick succession thereafter to reduce the side from 43 for 1 to 66 for 4, with both the set batters dismissed.
They tried to with a 24-run stand between Shakib Al Hasan (who walked out to bat at No 7) and Afif Hossain for the sixth wicket, but the veteran pace duo of Boult and Southee returned to derail their innings further. Both the batters were foxed and dismissed by slower deliveries. Nurual hammered a couple of sixes to end Sodhi’s spell in the penultimate over of the innings but it only helped Bangladesh reach a sub-par 137.
How were New Zealand in the chase?
Clinical.
Even as Shriful dismissed Finn Allen on an 18-ball 16 in the fourth over, New Zealand were never hurried in the run chase. Kane Williamson and Devon Conway were steady in the chase, largely relying on working the ball around in gaps for singles and twos. However, Conway didn’t let go off the boundary-scoring opportunities, putting away deliveries that were too short, wide or full with disdain. The duo didn’t resort to too many arial shots and put on an 85-run stand in 66 balls for the second wicket to all but seal the fate of the contest.
Bangladesh 137/8 in 20 overs (Najmul Shanto 33, Nurul Hasan 25*; Michael Bracewell 2-14, Trent Boult 2-25) lost to New Zealand 142/2 in 17.5 overs (Devon Conway 70*, Kane Williamson 30; Hasan Mahmud 1-26) by 8 wickets
