New Zealand beat Bangladesh by 26 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
Chasing 247, Bangladesh were well on track early. They reached half the target by the 25th over. A bit more patience could have made the chase easy. But too many dot balls put them under pressure. Zachary Foulkes became difficult to handle. Dean Foxcroft and Nathan Smith had already found rhythm. The run rate climbed from five to six, then to seven.
After the match, captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz spoke at the presentation. On the defeat, he said, “Yes, sometimes this happens. All the players were very excited and everyone wanted to win, but sometimes it goes like this.”
He praised the bowlers. “Yes, of course. I think we bowled very well. Chasing 270 on this wicket is not very hard. The wicket was quite good and our bowlers did a great job to restrict them. If we had taken two catches, we could have kept them under 200. That was a small mistake from us. But I think we have many positives.”
On Shoriful Islam getting a late chance, Miraz said, “One of the positives was like a blessing. Shoriful came into the team at the last moment. It was a big chance for him. After Mustafizur Rahman got injured, it was not easy for anyone to step in, as he did not know he would play this match. Luckily he got the chance and bowled very well after returning.”
Despite losing the last six wickets for just 37 runs, he stayed positive about the batting. “Yes, of course. I think losing two wickets in a row always gives the other team a big chance. But the way Litton Das and Towhid Hridoy batted was excellent. Then Towhid and Afif Hossain also did well. We should have finished the match properly. Otherwise it is not possible to win. Big partnerships are very important in a chase. If we had one big stand, we would have won the match.”
Under pressure, Bangladesh kept losing wickets. Towhid Hridoy was the only batter fighting at the crease. He needed support from the other end. His shot selection raised some questions, and the lack of support made his task harder. New Zealand bowled in a tight manner and Bangladesh’s batting line finally broke down.
