Bangladesh struck back from an early batting jolt to secure a comfortable victory in the third One-Day International against New Zealand in Mirpur on Thursday, April 23. Chasing a big platform, Najmul Hossain Shanto’s 105 and Mustafizur Rahman’s five-wicket spell proved decisive as the hosts sealed the series 2-1 with a 55-run win.
Bangladesh’s innings: from wobble to commanding total
- Bangladesh were sent in first and suffered an immediate blow when William O’Rourke struck twice inside his opening overs, removing Saif Hassan and Tanzid Hasan Tamim.
- O’Rourke kept pressure building during the Powerplay, dismissing Soumya Sarkar in the same phase and leaving the side reeling at 32/3.
- Despite the slow start to scoring, Shanto and Litton Das steadied the innings. Between overs 11 and 20, Bangladesh managed just one four and one six.
- The partnership began to unlock as the total moved beyond 100 in the 25th over, with boundaries becoming more regular and both batters reaching their respective fifty marks.
- In the 39th over, the 160-run fourth-wicket stand finally ended when Das was bowled for 76.
- Shanto soon brought up his fourth ODI century, setting Bangladesh up for a strong finishing push, but after his dismissal the scoring briefly stalled.
- Over the next three overs, Bangladesh failed to hit a single boundary, with Mehidy Hasan Miraz contributing 22 off 18 balls and Towhid Hridoy striking a six off Dean Foxcroft in the 48th over.
- In the penultimate over, Ben Lister struck twice, and then Nathan Smith bowled a tight final over—Bangladesh were restricted to 265/8.
- Even so, Hridoy remained unbeaten on 33, while O’Rourke—despite being the pick of the bowlers—bowled just seven overs, and the last ten overs yielded only 61 runs.
New Zealand’s chase: early strikes, then a collapse
- New Zealand’s pursuit began poorly as Mustafizur, playing his first match of the series, produced an early breakthrough when Henry Nicholls edged a pull on a short ball in the fourth over.
- Will Young added some momentum with a couple of boundaries, though Shoriful Islam continued to trouble the batters with the new ball.
- The visitors managed 33 runs in the first ten overs, then rotated the strike more effectively, before Young was dismissed after edging behind off Nahid Rana.
- Mehidy Hasan Miraz struck again soon after, bowling Tom Latham for five and sending New Zealand to 61/3.
- Nick Kelly came in at number three and initially took time to settle, using his feet well to reach a second consecutive half-century.
- Kelly and Muhammad Abbas built the chase briskly, and by the halfway point the required run rate was 6.32 RPO, though Kelly also battled cramps before falling for 59 to Mustafizur.
- Shoriful then removed Abbas, and Nahid Rana followed with another dismissal—Josh Clarkson—pushing New Zealand further into trouble as the required rate climbed above 8.
- Dean Foxcroft tried to revive the innings by smashing a slower ball from Mustafizur for six, giving New Zealand their first boundary after 78 balls.
- Two deliveries later, Smith took a stunning catch to dismiss Foxcroft’s partner, and Mustafizur then ran riot, finishing with a five-wicket haul.
- Foxcroft carried on alone and reached his second fifty of the series, hitting seven sixes while finding no fours, though Bangladesh held their chances when Mehidy shelled a chance earlier.
- Mehidy redeemed that miss in the same over by stopping Foxcroft’s advance and halting the late surge at 75, as New Zealand were eventually bowled out for 210 in 44.5 overs.
Brief Scores: Bangladesh 265/8 in 50 overs (Najmul Hossain Shanto 105, Litton Das 76; William O’Rourke 3-32, Jayden Lennox 2-50) beat New Zealand 210 in 44.5 overs (Dean Foxcroft 75, Nick Kelly 59; Mustafizur Rahman 5-43, Mehidy Hasan Miraz 2-36, Nahid Rana 2-37) by 55 runs.
