NZ vs BAN | 1st ODI: Trent Boult, bowlers decimate Bangla Tigers in series opener

New Zealand bowlers demolished Bangladesh batsmen to set up a crushing win in the first ODI of the three-match series in Dunedin. 

The stand-in captain Tom Latham won the toss and decided to ask Bangladesh batsmen to come up with ‘big performances’ their coach had expected of him before the start of the series. 

Trent Boult and Matt Henry were dominating with the ball and the left-arm, in particular, was all over Tamim Iqbal with swinging deliveries. However, Iqbal was ambitious in his approach and capitalized on the short ball by Boult and leg-side delivery by Henry to help calm things down for the tourists.

The Iqbal show was a short-lived affair though as Boult finally found him plumb in front of the stumps with the one that did not swing after testing the left-hander with outrageously swinging balls. 

Soumya Sarkar came to bat at the number three position as his technique has been rated high by the team, but he lacked temperament. He tried slicing Boult over the in-filed when the left-armer did not offer any sort of room.

The old man Mushfiqur Rahim steadied the ship consuming a lot of deliveries while Liton Das itching to go for glory shots every now and then. Ultimately, Das went back to the pavilion courtesy of another soft dismissal for which he has been known for in the Bangladesh team set up and handed James Neesham an easy wicket.

 The next man in Mohammad Mithun and Mushfiqur Rahim carried on with the repair work as Latham continued operating with Neesham along with the introduction of left-armer spinner Mitchell Santner. Just when the pair started to look like settling into a good rhythm and Mushqfirur started finding crisp boundaries, Neesham struck again to send the former Bangladesh skipper back.

Mushfiqur was soon followed by Mithun in one of the most unfortunate ways of getting out when Mahmudullah punched James Neesham’s delivery but only for the ball to hit the bowler’s hand and then on to the stumps.

Bangladesh were halfway down at the halfway stage of the innings and all hopes were reliant on Mahmudulah’s shoulders to bail Bangladesh out of trouble and take them to a total.

Wickets kept falling from the other end as Santner accounted for Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Mahedi Hasan and Mahmudullah was getting helpless at the other end. He decided to up the ante and smashed Kyle Jamieson for a big six but he could not prolong his efforts as Henry came back to taste success in the mid-innings.

Boult came back to wipe up the tail and demolish Bangladesh’s attempt of challenging Kiwis in their home conditions. He finished with a four-wicket haul and won the Man of the Match for breaking the neck and back of the Bangladesh batting order. 

The target of 131 runs could never be challenging enough for New Zealand and any hopes of the tourists’ comeback were dashed quickly by Martin Guptill who has made a comeback to his best with the bat. A four and a six to start off against Mustafizur Rehman was a clear signal of dominance from Guptil as the hosts eased in their chasing effort.

Another pacer Hasan Mahmud whom the head coach Russell Domingo rated very highly before the series for even harsher punishment form Guptill. In his first two overs, the right-hander hit as many as three fours and two sixes to crush Bangladesh’s hope and spirit.

Pacer Taskin was introduced in the sixth over and got the better of Guptill, but the task was not too steep for Henry Nicholls and the debutant Devon Conway. Both left-handers made sure no slip-ups from the hosts and put on a 65 run partnership to seal the deal for the Blackcaps.

The next two games of the series will be played on March 23 and 25 in Christchurch and Wellington respectively.