New Zealand chased down 103 with 20 balls to spare to beat Bangladesh by six wickets on Duckworth-Lewis-Stern at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur on Saturday, levelling the rain-affected three-match T20I series 1-1. Bevon Jacobs hit an unbeaten 62 from 31 balls and put on 71 in 40 balls with Dean Foxcroft to finish a chase Bangladesh had under control inside the first five overs.
Bangladesh batted first after losing the toss in a match cut to 15 overs a side, and lost all wickets for 102 in 14.2 overs. Tawhid Hridoy top-scored with 33 from 24. New Zealand reached the target in 11.4 overs for the loss of four wickets. Rain had washed out the second match in Chattogram, and Bangladesh had won the first.
Shoriful Islam ran through the New Zealand top order in his opening burst. He had Katene Clarke caught behind for 1 from 2 in the second over, with Litton Das taking the edge, and removed Dane Cleaver for 1 from 3 the same over after Litton’s review overturned the not-out call on a caught-behind appeal. New Zealand were 12 for 2.
Shoriful then bowled Tim Robinson for 23 from 14 in his next over. Robinson had hit Ripon Mondol for a four and a six the previous over and stepped down again, but failed to read the late movement, and the ball clipped middle stump. Jacobs blocked the hat-trick ball. New Zealand sat at 26 for 3 after four.
Sheikh Mehedi Hasan bowled stand-in captain Nick Kelly for 1 from 5 in the fifth over, the offspinner finding a skiddy line that took the inside edge into the bails. New Zealand were 33 for 4, with the chase looking a long way off.
DRS was offline for parts of the innings. When Mohammad Saifuddin produced a leg-stump line that beat Foxcroft, Litton called for a review on a caught-behind appeal. The fourth umpire told the captain DRS was unavailable, and the appeal stayed unresolved.
Jacobs and Foxcroft turned the chase. Their fifty stand came up in 30 balls, and by the 10th over New Zealand needed 42 from seven. Sheikh Mehedi dropped Jacobs at 45 off his own bowling. Tanzid Hasan then put down a chance at the rope off Rishad Hossain when Jacobs was on 50, and the ball went over for six. Jacobs reached his maiden T20I fifty in 29 balls and hit the next two for four and six to seal the match.
Jacobs finished 62 not out from 31 with five fours and three sixes. Foxcroft made 15 from 15 with one boundary. Bangladesh had taken four wickets in the first five overs, but had no answer once Jacobs counter-attacked from the sixth.
