Bangladesh vs New Zealand, 3rd ODI: Kane Williamson, Neil Broom help New Zealand sweep series
Kane Williamson, Neil Broom help New Zealand sweep series
New Zealand whitewashed Bangladesh in the three-match One-Day International (ODI) series after emerging victorious by 8 wickets in the final encounter at Nelson on Saturday. Neil Broom and Kane Williamson came out fighting and stitched a match-winning 179-runs stand between them to snatch a scintillating victory and add agony on the languishing Bangladesh. With this win, New Zealand have also kept their record intact of not losing a single ODI game against Bangladesh at home. Williamson was five runs short from reaching another splendid ton as New Zealand hunted down the target with the elegant batsman being unbeaten on 95 whereas Broom contributed with a priceless 97. New Zealand surpassed Bangladesh’s total of 236 runs with eight wickets and 52 deliveries to spare.
Broom justified his selection with a tenacious ton in the second encounter and a match-winning performance in the final. Bangladesh won the toss and elected to bat first. Imrul Kayes, Tamim Iqbal stood to the occasion and got their team off to a flying start. They accounted for 102 runs between them at the top and laid the foundation for a big total to sign off the tour on a high. Broom’s incredible athleticism ended Kayes’ stay as he was run on 44 and first blood was drawn off Santner’s bowling. Bangladeshi batting collapsed after this dismissal as Bangladesh were precariously placed at 170 for 6 inside 37 overs from being 102 for no loss.
LIVE CRICKET SCORECARD, Bangladesh vs New Zealand, 3rd ODI at Nelson
Sabbir Rahman was undone for 19 by Matt Henry after which Mahmudullah squandered anther golden opportunity of making an impact after an awful run in the first two games. Shakib Al Hasan looked comfortable but was unlucky to have been run out. Nurul Hasan showed some nerves of steel and chipped in with 44 crucial runs. Santner was the pick of the bowlers with 2 wickets to his name.
Defending 236 against the strong New Zealand line-up is not an easy task, but Bangladesh had their hopes raised after scalping Tom Latham’s dismissal followed by Martin Guptill’s injury. New Zealand were 16 for 1 when Guptill pulled his hamstring, which was also a golden opportunity for the visitors to induce some pressure and pick wickets. Broom was dropped at first slip without even opening his account after which he made the opposition pay and snatched the game away. He smashed one six and 12 fours for his run-a-ball 97.
Mustafizur Rahman’s guileful bowling deprived Broom from scoring consecutive tons while Williamson fell short of his hundred by 5 runs as Neesham finished off the game with a boundary. Neesham got the ball rolling from the outset and did not waste any time whatsoever in carrying his team over the line. He played a rapid knock of 28 runs off 23 deliveries and was also asked by his skipper to finish the game off and by not curbing his natural instincts to let Williamson reach the milestone. Bangladeshi bowlers had the opportunity of pulling things back but they failed to do so and suffered a whitewash. Barring Msuatfizur Rahman, none of the Bangladeshi bowlers managed to taste success and remained wicketless.