Bangladesh begin the 5-match T20I series against New Zealand with a bang, as they beat the Kiwis by commanding margin of 7 wickets at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur on Wednesday. This was Bangladesh’s first ever T20I victory over New Zealand.
It was a comprehensive victory for the Tigers, who have overpowered the inexperienced Kiwis in brutal fashion with the bowl, and almost bullied the batting line-up into submission, attacking with spin from the very beginning and dismissing them for a paltry total of 60. Thanks to Nasum Ahmed and Mustafizur Rahman who led from the front and took 2 and 3 wickets respectively.
For Kiwis, no one showed character or adaptability, other than Tom Latham and skipper Henry Nicholls, and after their dismissal they were rolled over for their joint-lowest score in T20Is. Defending 60, even the early wickets by New Zealand's spinners didn't help as the experienced trio of Shakib al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah Riyad nudged their way to the paltry target.
There should have been no scoreboard pressure on Tigers’ batsmen as they had after bundling out Kiwis for 60, but the two quick wickets of openers Mohammad Naim and Liton Das put the team in a spot of bother. However, two experienced campaigners Shakib and Mushfiq then brought some stability before the former was dismissed in the 10th over after a 33-ball 25. After that, Mushfiq and Mahmudullah took Bangladesh towards the victory shore. They both remained unbeaten on 16 and 14 respectively.
Earlier, after winning the toss, New Zealand chose to bat first, which proved to be a submissive decision as Bangladesh spinners and fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman played a key role in slow and low track of Mirpur to scythe them down. Mustafizur who basically cleaned up their tail finished with excellent figures of 13/3 in 2.5 overs.
Shakib, Nasum and pacer Saifuddin scalped two wickets each while offspinner Mahedi Hasan grabbed one.
Nasum began the rout after getting the better of debutant Rachin Ravindra in the third ball of the innings. Shakib then joined him to slice the top order and reduced Kiwis to 9/4 in just the fourth over.
Latham and Nicholls tried to show some resonance with their 34-run for the fifth wicket, which actually saved them from ultimate blushes. Both of them scored 18 before being dismissed by Saifuddin. There were only two batsmen to reach the double digit figure. Mustafizur Rahman then dismissed any hopes of Kiwis to get the score past 100.