Dismissing all the possibilities of an upset, New Zealand crushed Bangladesh to register third victory in a row to regain first position in the points table. The Kiwis made the light work of a tricky total set by Bangladesh, as they romp home by 8 wickets and 43 balls to spare. Daryl Mitchell shone with the bat with his belligerent 89 off 67 balls, while Williamson and Conway contributed with 78 and 45 respectively. After losing the toss, Bangladesh had scored 245-9 in 50 overs.
Routine work for Boult and Bangladesh’s top order misery
Record holder for most wickets in powerplay in ODI cricket, Trent Boult was at it again when he sent Bangladesh’s key batsman- Litton Das- for a golden duck on the very first ball of the match. An inswinger on pads flogged to behind square on leg side by Litton but he failed to keep it along the ground, and was caught easily by Matt Henry on fine leg.
For the third time in a row in this World Cup, Bangladesh could not get the start they needed. A good looking partnership had just started to blossom between Tanzid Hasan and Mehidy Hasan Miraz when Lockie Ferguson jolted Bangladesh with the wickets of both batsmen, before Glen Phillips removed Shanto to make it 56 for 4 wickets.
Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim union
The most reliable batting partners ever for Bangladesh took the onus for the umpteenth time and tried to safeguard Bangladesh innings from a collapse. With partnerships of 96 off 106 balls for the 5th wicket, Shakib and Rahim brought Bangladesh in the game. It was the 20th fifty partnership (they also have 7 century partnerships) for the duo in ODIs, which also saw them crossing 3500 partnership runs (most for Bangladesh in ODI cricket).
In quest to up the run rate Shakib perished to a short delivery from Ferguson, which followed by Rahim and Towhid Hridoy getting out in quick succession to leave the innings in jeopardy again as the score card read 180-7.
Mahmudullah reminded fans of old days
Mahmudullah was recalled to the team for the World Cup for his ability to finish the innings on high. Easily the best lower middle order batsman Bangladesh have ever had in ODI cricket, Mahmudullah ranks 6th in the list of most runs scored in ODI cricket while batting at 6 or below.
With 180-7 in the 38th over, it was crucial for Bangladesh to play 50 overs, and Mahmudullah did it in some style. He kept the innings going till the very end before unleashing two maximums in the final two overs to help Bangladesh reach a respectable total of 245/9 in their quota of overs. Mahmudullah remained not out at 41 off 49 balls with 2 sixes and as many fours.
Cautious Kane Williamson hold the key in the chase
Kane Williamson came to bat early as the Kiwis lost their first wicket in the form of Rachin Ravindra as they embarked on their chase of 246. Playing his first ODI match after 9 months, Kane Williamson took time to get going. Having scored just a single run off 17 balls at one time, Williamson took on Shoriful Islam in 10th over to extract two boundaries to get himself out of the shell. He kept on churning out singles and occasional boundaries to keep New Zealand firmly on track.
His partnerships- first with Devon Conway and then with Daryl Mitchell for 2nd and 3rd wicket respectively- gave Bangladesh no chance to come back into the game. After a fine knock of 78 off 107 balls, Kane retired hurt after looking exhausted and possibly due to a blow on left thumb, when NZ required only 46 runs to win from 10 overs.
Daryl Mitchell stole the show
After the wicket of Devon Conway, Daryl Mitchell came out all guns blazing as he tonked the first ball from Shakib for six. But Mitchell played calmly after that hit and didn’t hit a boundary for the next 37 balls he faced.
Playing at 33 off 35 balls at one time, Mitchell decided to change the gear as he maneuvered Bangladesh bowling attack with skillful batting display ,and finished with 89 off 67 balls with 6 fours and 4 sixes to get New Zealand past comfortably.
