New Zealand have come to Bangladesh to play a three-match ODI series against the home side. Unfortunately, the first match of the series was suspended due to heavy rain. But New Zealand showed full dominance today in the second game against Bangladesh. They defeated the home team by 86 runs thanks to Ish Sodhi, who destroyed the batting lineup of Bangladesh by taking six wickets alone.
As it happened
Two senior players, Tamim Iqbal and Mahmudullah Riyad, made their return to the national team after ages with this series against New Zealand. Tamim Iqbal broke his retirement and returned to international cricket with this series. However, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, and Taskin Ahmed were given rest. Therefore, Liton Das is now playing the Captain’s role in this series.
However, New Zealand’s skipper Lockie Ferguson won the toss and opted to bat first against Bangladesh. Finn Allen and Will Young stepped up to start the innings for the Black Caps. Unfortunately, the two openers failed to get a good start.
New Zealand lost their first wicket in the 3rd over as Will Young had gone duck. Bangladeshi pacer Mustafizur Rahman had a brilliant opening spell today. He picked up both openers of New Zealand.
After that, pacer Khaled Ahmed joined with him in taking wickets. Due to their aggression, New Zealand became three men down in just 36 runs. But Henry Nicholls made a fantastic partnership with Tom Blundell. They made a partnership of 95 runs, which was a turning point for New Zealand.
Unfortunately, Nicholls missed the half-century only for one run, leaving the crease after scoring 49 off 61. But Tom Blundell completed the fifty and scored 68 runs before being bowled out by Hasan Mahmud.
However, Bangladesh showed the true spirit of cricket when Hasan Mahmud picked up the wicket of Ish Sodhi by “Mankad.” But Liton Das called Ish Sodhi back to the crease and let him play. After that, Ish Sodhi scored 35 off 39 for the Black Caps.
Sarcastic applause turns into sportsmanship as Litton Das steps in. 🤝❤️#ICCWorldCup2023 #ICCWorldCup #NZvBAN #BANvNZ #BANvsNZ #NZvsBAN pic.twitter.com/IjZo0H62y4
— Breceli 🇵🇰 (@BreceliCricket) September 23, 2023
But the remaining batters couldn’t contribute much, while Bangladeshi bowlers tied up the visitors with 254 runs. Khaled Ahmed and Mehedi Hasan got three wickets, while Mustafizur Rahman picked up two.
Chasing the target, Bangladesh had a very poor start. Only Tamim Iqbal and Mahmudullah Riyad, who made their return after a long time, played effective innings today. Except for these two batters, the rest of the players failed to contribute enough for Bangladesh.
Tamim Iqbal and Mahmudullah Riyad were so close to getting their fifties, but they were not lucky enough. Tamim lost his wicket after scoring 44 runs, while Mahmudullah Riyad scored 49 runs before leaving the crease.
After that, spinner Ish Sodhi destroyed the Bangladeshi batting lineup. He picked up six wickets alone to end Bangladesh’s innings in 168 runs. As a result, New Zealand have won the match by 86 runs and took taken 1-0 lead against the home side.
