DUNEDIN – The Blackcaps cruised to a comfortable win against Bangladesh at the University Oval on Saturday to go 1-0 up in the three-match ODI series, in their first match of the ICC Cricket World Cup Super League.
In his 100th ODI, captain Tom Latham won the toss for New Zealand and sent their opponents straight into the middle to bat. When Bangladesh captain Tamim Iqbal smashed Trent Boult (4/27) for six off the third ball of the innings, the visitors seemed destined for a competitive total. Heading into the fifth over, Bangladesh were comfortable, with their openers putting on 19 on the board. Tamim was then caught napping by Boult, who trapped him lbw for 13 runs off 15 balls. The New Zealand quick struck again three balls later, this time removing Soumya Sarkar for a duck, and suddenly, Bangladesh were 19/2.
Liton Das and Mushfiqur Rahim responded well to the early setback, putting on a steady 23, but the momentum was completely lost when the Blackcaps welcomed Jimmy Neesham (2/27) into the attack. With his second delivery, Neesham dismissed Das for 19 leaving Bangladesh 42/3 in just the 14th over. Mushfiqur Rahim and Mohammad Mithun somewhat steadied the ship for their side, adding 27 for the fourth wicket, but in the 22nd over, Neesham effected two dismissals in as many overs. Rahim was caught by Martin Guptill for 23, while Mithun was run out after Neesham got his fingertips onto a drive at the stumps at the bowler’s end.
Mitchell Santner (2/23) joined in on the action, knocking over leg stump to bowl Mehidy Hasan for 1. Four overs later, Santner forced a shot from Mahedi Hasan into the hands of Nicholls, leaving Bangladesh 98/7. With able support from Matt Henry, Boult cleaned up the tail to restrict the Tigers to just 131 runs off 41.5 overs. Requiring 132 runs to win, Guptill (38) and Henry Nicholls went straight to work for New Zealand, with Guptill smacking Mustafizur Rahman for four and six in the first over of the chase.
The Blackcaps openers set the tone for the chase with a quickfire 54 after five overs, including nine boundaries. Suddenly, Bangladesh sniffed a comeback when Taskin Ahmed (1/23) had Guptill caught behind off a slight edge. Debutant Devon Conway came to the crease next for New Zealand, and took the occasion in his stride, scoring 27 off 52 balls before throwing away his wicket in the 20th over. From there on in, the Blackcaps cruised to victory with fellow debutant Will Young (11*) scoring the winning runs in the 22nd over as Nicholls was stranded on 49*. The second ODI will be played on Tuesday, 23 March in Christchurch.
Scorecard
BANGLADESH:
Tamim Iqbal lbw b Boult 13
Liton Das c Boult b Neesham 19
Soumya Sarkar c Conway b Boult 0
Mushfiqur Rahim c Guptill b Neesham 23
Mohammad Mithun run out 9
Mahmudullah c Santner b Henry 27
Mehidy Hasan Miraz b Santner 1
Mahedi Hasan c Nicholls b Santner 14
Taskin Ahmed c Santner b Boult 10
Hasan Mahmud b Boult 1
Mustafizur Rahman not out 1
EXTRAS: (lb3, nb1, w9) 13
TOTAL: (all out 41.5 overs) 131
FOW: 1-19, 2-19, 3-42, 4-69, 5-72, 6-78, 7-98, 8-125, 9-130, 10-131.
BOWLING: Trent Boult 8.5-0-27-4, Matt Henry 9-1-26-1, Kyle Jamieson 8-1-25-0, James Neesham 8-1-27-2, Mitchell Santner 8-0-23-2.
NEW ZEALAND:
Martin Guptill c Mushfiqur b Taskin 38
Henry Nicholls not out 49
D Conway c Mahmudullah b Hasan 27
Will Young not out 11
EXTRAS: (b1, lb2, nb2, w2) 7
TOTAL: (2 wkts, 21.2 overs) 132
FOW: 1-54, 2-119
BOWLING: Mustafizur Rahman 4-0-26-0, Hasan Mahmud 4.2-0-49-1, Taskin Ahmed 4-0-23-1, Mahedi Hasan 6-0-17-0, Mehidy Hasan Miraz 2-0-9-0, Soumya 1-0-5-0.
TOSS: New Zealand
UMPIRES: Chris Gaffaney, Wayne Knights
TV UMPIRE: Brown
MATCH REFEREE: Jeff Crowe
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