Litton Das held his nerve to anchor the chase and help Bangladesh take a 1-0 lead against New Zealand in Napier to kickstart the three-match T20I series.
Das was the watchful Bangladesh batter as he saw his batting partners getting starts and losing their wickets prematurely, but once the No 7 Mahedi Hasan joined him he finished the job in style.
The series moves to the Bay Oval cricket ground in Mount Maunganui, Tauranga, a venue where New Zealand have twice beaten Bangladesh in T20I cricket. The game gets underway at 08:10 on Friday 29 December.
The hosts have to be disappointed with their batting effort in the series opener which left them exposed to defeat.
With the ball, Adam Milne showed real vigour early on and threatened the Bangladesh cause but they just didn’t have the runs on the board.
Key man Daryl Mitchell didn’t fire for New Zealand and left quite a lot of work for the lower order.
While Jimmy Neesham and Mitchell Santner did their bit to keep New Zealand afloat but those would prove too little too late.
Bangladesh head coach Chandika Hathurusingha will be delighted that his team have achieved their goal of finally winning a T20I in New Zealand but know they are out to win the series.
Mustafizur Rahman and Shoriful Islam made the early impact with the ball last time out before the Das heroics.
Bangladesh have enjoyed a brilliant run in T20Is in 2023, winning ten out of 12 matches, with series victories over England (3-0), Ireland (2-1) and Afghanistan (2-0).
Bangladesh might be concerned with the way they got starts but ended up getting out, although Das managed to get the job done in the end.
Verdict: New Zealand
New Zealand should fight back in this match.
