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Dean Foxcroft Shines As New Zealand A Beat Bangladesh A To Avoid Series Whitewash

Jatin

Dean Foxcroft [Source: @BLACKCAPS/x.com]Dean Foxcroft [Source: @BLACKCAPS/x.com]

It was all but a dead rubber but New Zealand A were not going to leave Sylhet empty-handed. After going down 0-2 in the three-match ODI series, the visitors finally got their act together and pulled off a gutsy 4-wicket win over Bangladesh A on Saturday to end things on a high.

The Kiwis might have been late to the party but they made sure they didn’t leave without turning the music up in the final game.

Yasir Ali And Nasum Ahmed Rescue Bangladesh A After Early Collapse

After being but into bat, Bangladesh A never really got into fifth gear but they found patches of resistance. After being reduced to 54/4 inside 11 overs, Yasir Ali played a crucial hand, smashing 63 off 65 balls with seven boundaries and three sixes.

He looked set for a big one until he was dismissed trying to take on the bowling again. While wickets kept tumbling around him, Yasir’s knock held the innings together in the middle phase.

Foxcroft And Ashok Rip Through As Kiwis Keep Bangladesh to 226

The real rearguard came from Nasum Ahmed, who dropped anchor and made a patient 67 off 97. He didn’t take risks, didn’t panic and ensured Bangladesh at least batted out close to their quota. 

Together with the tail, he pushed the total to 226 in 47.4 overs. It wasn’t massive, but it gave the bowlers something to bowl at. Adithya Ashok (3/44) and Foxcroft (2/32) were the pick of the Kiwi bowlers.

Mariu and Phillips Lay the Foundation In Confident Kiwi Chase

The chase started briskly for New Zealand A with Rhys Mariu (33 off 33) and Dale Phillips (34 off 46) giving them a 77-run stand that set the tone. Even though wickets fell at regular intervals after that, they never really looked under pressure thanks to small but valuable contributions from the top and middle order.

Joe Carter chipped in with 33, while skipper Nick Kelly and Muhammad Abbas kept the scoreboard ticking before falling for 19 each.

Calm Heads Prevail As Foxcroft And Foulkes Seal It For NZ A

With the game hanging in balance at 166/6, Dean Foxcroft and Zakary Foulkes stepped up and shut the door. The duo put together an unbeaten 65-run partnership, with Foxcroft finishing on 36* off 43 and Foulkes on 28* off 42.

They didn’t go chasing boundaries, just rotated strike smartly and wore down the bowling attack which was enough to seal the win for the visitors.