NAPIER: On Wednesday in Napier, Bangladesh’s seamers wreaked havoc, restricting New Zealand to a struggling 134-9 in the first match of their three-game T20 series.
Upon choosing to bat first by Bangladesh skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto, the home team stumbled drastically, losing three crucial wickets with a mere solitary run on the board. It was James Neesham who stemmed the fall, displaying resilience with a striking 48.
Following their compelling performance in the previous match where they restricted New Zealand to a meager 98 runs, Bangladesh’s bowlers resumed their dominance. Mahedi Hasan set the tone, claiming Tim Seifert’s wicket in the opening over. Shoriful Islam emerged as the standout performer, bagging three key wickets for 26 runs, a sequence that included dismissing Finn Allen caught and trapping Glenn Phillips lbw with consecutive deliveries.
Despite Daryl Mitchell briefly igniting hope with consecutive boundaries, his departure for 14 left New Zealand struggling at 20-4. Mark Chapman contributed 19 runs off as many balls before being caught, leaving the visitors at 50-5.
The partnership between Captain Mitchell Santner and Neesham steadied New Zealand momentarily, amassing 41 runs before Soumya Sarkar’s second catch removed Santner, who had earlier snared Allen in the slips.
Neesham’s valiant effort fell short by just two runs of reaching fifty, as he was caught at deep cover point, followed by Tim Southee’s dismissal for eight.
The conclusion saw Adam Milne making an impactful statement, smashing a towering six off the final delivery to culminate at an unbeaten 16 runs