Third T20I at Bay Oval: Bangladesh 110 in 19.2 overs (Mitchell Santner 4-16 off 4, Ben Sears 2-28 off 4, Tim Southee 2-25 off 4, Adam Milne 2-23 off 3.2) lost to New Zealand 95-5 in 14.4 overs (Finn Allen 38 off 31, Jimmy Neesham 28* off 20; Shoriful Islam 2-17 off 3.4, Mahedi Hasan 2-18 off 4) by 17 runs on the DLS method. Click here for full scoreboard.
The Black Caps managed to steer out of their own way long enough to secure a worryingly difficult win over Bangladesh on Sunday.
Seemingly set for a simple pursuit of 111 for victory after a comprehensive bowling effort at Bay Oval in Tauranga, the Black Caps almost crashed to a self-inflicted calamity.
Holding the innings together after losing three of his batting partners within the first five overs, New Zealand opener Finn Allen collided with Mark Chapman when the duo chased an unnecessarily risky second run during the seventh over.
Chapman was left short of his ground and run out, while Allen was left on the ground and required medical attention before resuming his innings. The opener was out soon after, but allrounder Jimmy Neesham (28 not out) and captain Mitchell Santner (18 not out) kept cool heads to allow them to level their Twenty20 series.
New Zealand rolled the tourists for just 110 in 19.2 overs, but stumbled to reach their target, winning by 17 runs on the DLS method after thundery showers hit the venue and ended the encounter with the Black Caps 95-5 in the 15th over.
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Finn Allen of New Zealand is checked by team-mate Mark Chapman following their collision and Chapman’s run-out during game three of the T20 International series against Bangladesh at Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui.
That enabled them to tie the three-game series 1-1, after the visitors won the opener in Napier and the second encounter produced no result at Bay Oval due to rain.
It also meant the Black Caps put an end to the run of teams batting first and winning in men’s T20 internationals at the venue, after eight consecutive instances since Bay Oval hosted its first game of that kind in 2016.
“It got quite tight in the end,” a relieved Santner acknowledged.
“Credit to Bangladesh, their bowlers have bowled extremely well in both series and they put us under some pressure again today, and nice to get over the line in the end.
“Obviously the powerplay’s pretty important, you’re obviously trying to get off to a good start and Mahedi [Hasan] showed his class throughout all three of these games. I guess we’ve tried to attack him and haven’t succeeded – and their seamers have bowled very well at the other end.”
With the sun initially on their backs, it appeared the Black Caps would easily reverse some gloomy efforts of late to end the year with a simple victory.
The hosts adopted an all-pace approach throughout the powerplay, which returned three wickets between Tim Southee, Adam Milne and Ben Sears among nine boundaries after Santner won the toss and chose to field, with the threat of rain again looming.
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New Zealand captain Mirchell Santner celebrates the wicket of Afif Hossain of Bangladesh with Jimmy Neesham during game three of the T20 International series at Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui.
Santner then took over with a four-over spell of command and guile which was rewarded with 4-16, as an opposition side which had played so spiritedly on tour ended it meekly. It’s been a good few months for the experienced left-arm spinner, who had an impressive ODI World Cup and then worked his way back into the test side for a victory over Bangladesh to level that series.
There were some puzzling lapses from the visitors while batting – Rony Talukdar failed to review an lbw decision, which would have given him a reprieve, while Afif Hossain came down the wicket to Santner, only to succumb softly to a bat-pad catch to wicketkeeper Tim Seifert.
Allen struck the first ball of NZ’s innings for four, added a six for good measure in the same over and that set him on his way to 38 from 31 balls as the clouds rolled in, ending a string of low scores for the national side in the format.
He lost three batting partners within the first five overs and then his run-in run-out with Chapman had fans horrified at the thought the Black Caps could yet blow their path to victory.
That intensified when Allen was bowled by the brilliant Shoriful Islam in the ninth over to reduce the hosts to 49-5, before Santner and Neesham steadied the ship.
New Zealand fielded an unchanged XI throughout the series, meaning Rachin Ravindra remained on drinks-carrying duties, but the five-game T20 series versus Pakistan throughout January is set to see the presence of more first-choice selections, with the World Cup in the shortest format the major ICC tournament on the 2024 calendar.
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Ben Sears picked up two wickets for the Black Caps in their win over Bangladesh at Bay Oval.
That squad could include regular captain Kane Williamson and opener Devon Conway, along with bowlers Lockie Ferguson and Kyle Jamieson, while Matt Henry is poised to return from his hamstring injury to the domestic arena shortly, after his last appearance came during the ODI World Cup in India at the start of November.
Sears, with his ungainly approach to the crease that doesn’t seem to hinder his ability to bowl quickly, made a good fist of his first international appearances at home. He ended the series with three wickets at 21.33, with an economy rate of 8, and may get further opportunities versus Pakistan.
