Bangladesh record maiden T20I series win over New Zealand

Bangladesh registered their maiden T20I series victory over New Zealand with a convincing win in the fourth game of the five-match series at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium Wednesday.

Lifted by left-arm spinner Nasum Ahmed’s career-best bowling in the format alongside Mustafizur Rahman’s brilliance, hosts Bangladesh first restricted New Zealand to their sixth lowest total in the format – 93

Bangladesh then chased down the below-par target with six wickets and five balls to spare with captain Mahmudullah leading from the front with an unbeaten 43 off 48.

With a game to go, Bangladesh have clinched the series 3-1.

There however, wasn’t a big celebration in the Bangladesh dugout.

The players and team officials shook hands congratulating each other while the Bangladesh Cricket Board high-ups basked in glory at the President Box balcony.

New Zealand after winning the toss on a slow and low surface opted to bat first.

The visitors though couldn’t do justice to the decision as they kept losing wickets from the first over of the innings.

Nasum removed the openers, first Rachin Ravindra for a duck and then Finn Allen in his next over.

Allen was hitting clean, sending the ball over the rope with a reverse sweep against Shakib al Hasan.

But he played one reverse sweep too many as Nasum picked up his second wicket in the game removing the right-handed batsman for 12 off eight balls.

New Zealand had a brief recovery with captain Tom Latham and Will Young slowing down the pace of the game and dealing in runs between the wickets.

The duo were shaping the innings when off-spinner Mahedi Hasan struck to the break the third-wicket stand for 35 off 47, dismissing Latham on 21 in the 11th over to leave the Kiwis reeling on 51 for three.

The Bangladesh bowlers made best use of the momentum from here on with Nasum striking twice in the next over.

He dismissed Henry Nicholls [one] and Colin de Grandhomme [nought] off successive deliveries but missed out on the hat-trick, finishing with four wickets with two maidens conceding 10 runs.

In the 16th over it was Mustafizur who bagged his first two wickets of the game and two more in the business end of the innings as he also finished with four scalps giving away 12 runs in 3.3 overs.

Amid the Bangladesh bowling domination Young stood strong scoring 46 off 48 with five boundaries and one over boundary.  

Star Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib once again had a silent outing as he remained wicketless and the wait to emerge as the first player to score 12,000 runs and claim 600 international wickets simultaneously and also being the joint highest wicket-taker in T20 International cricket, eclipsing Lasith Malinga’s 107 wickets, prolonged.

Shakib needs two wickets to reach the two milestones.

Chasing the target, Bangladesh lost opener Liton Das for six in the third over.

Bangladesh slipped into further peril as New Zealand strike bowler Ajaz Patel struck twice in an over. 

The left-arm spinner first removed Shakib on run-a-ball eight then Mushfiqur Rahim for a duck in the last ball of the over to leave Bangladesh on 32 for three in six overs.

This saw Mahmudullah come into the middle and he ensured to finish the job, first pulling up a 34-run stand with Mohammad Naim [29 off 35] for the fourth wicket and then an unbeaten 29-run partnership with Afif Hossain for the fifth wicket.

Bangladesh will meet New Zealand in the fifth and final game of the series at the same venue Friday.