Bangladesh whip New Zealand by nine wickets to finish ODI series
|| CF DESK ||
Bangladesh demolished New Zealand by nine wickets in Napier on Saturday to avoid a clean sweep in the three-match ODI series.
The win, however, was the Tigers' maiden ODI win on New Zealand soil.
Bangladesh pacers Shoriful Islam, Tanzim Hasan Sakib and part-time bowler Soumya Sarkar have displayed exceptional performances as the hosts, who won the first two ODIs, were all out for 98 in the third and final ODI game.
With both front-line pacers claiming three wickets each, Shoriful and Sakib dictated the game against the hosts, who found themselves struggling throughout their innings. Later, Soumya picked up three wickets too.
Shoriful delivered an outstanding second spell, making a significant impact by dismissing three crucial New Zealand batters.
Introduced into the attack for the second time after a drinks break, Shoriful swiftly broke through the defenses of Kiwi skipper Tom Latham (21 off 34) in the third delivery of the 17th over.
He continued his success by removing the well-set Will Young (26 off 43) and Mark Chapman (2 off 8) in his subsequent two overs.
Captain Najmul Hossain Shanto then withdrew Shoriful from the attack after three productive overs.
However, before the Kiwis could regroup, Sakib, who had already taken two early wickets during the Powerplay, Rachin Ravindra (8) and Henry Nicholls (1), was reintroduced and made an immediate impact.
On the first ball of his second spell, Sakib dismissed Tom Blundell, with the right-handed batsman edging a fuller length delivery towards backward point. Mehedi Hasan Miraz executed an excellent catch, grabbing the ball low to the ground.
Then Soumya Sarkar joined the party and removed Josh Clarkson and Adam Milne in successive overs to leave New Zealand reeling at 86 for 8.
Soumya took his third with Adithya Ashok’s wicket, while Mustafizur Rahman wrapped it up with the final wicket to bundle out New Zealand for their lowest total at home since 2007.
Even though in-form Soumya, who scored 169 in the last game, had to walk off following some sort of trouble in his right eye for four, Anamul Haque Bijoy and Shanto sailed the Tigers to a huge victory against the Blackcaps.
William O’Rourke saved the Kiwis from a ten-wicket defeat as he edged Bijoy on 37, when Bangladesh needed only 15 runs to win.
Skipper Shanto remained unbeaten for 51 runs to lead the group to finish the series on top ahead of their three-match T20I series, which will start on December 27th.