Shakib hits 70 but Bangladesh fall way short, get knocked out of tri-series
Shakib Al Hasan looked in great touch as he found gaps well on a big ground and timed the ball nicely. The southpaw struck eight fours and a six in his 44-ball-70 but it was not enough to prevent quite a heavy defeat.
New Zealand knocked Bangladesh out of the ongoing tri-nation T20I series as the latter suffered their third defeat in the tournament. Bangladesh were given a target of 208 and despite having their moments in the chase, they fell 48 runs short.
New Zealand batters enjoyed themselves on a fresh Christchurch wicket. Finn Allen punished the bowlers up front and scored 32 off 19 before getting out in the fifth over. His opening partner Devon Conway added 82 runs with Martin Guptill, Kane Williamson's replacement, for the second wicket. Guptill (34 off 27) didn't look at his best though and was dismissed by Ebadot Hossain.
New Zealand always maintained a healthy run rate in the middle overs too thanks to Devon Conway (64 off 40) who continued his fine run in this format. New Zealand were 161 for three off 16.1 overs when he went back to the shed.
Then it was all Glenn Phillips. Mohammad Saifuddin bowled a brilliant 17th over, conceding just five runs and taking two wickets, but leaked 17 runs in the penultimate over. Phillips, who notched up a 19-ball-fifty, was dismissed in the final over scoring a brutal 60 off 24 balls with the help of two fours and five sixes.
All of the Bangladesh bowlers went for more than nine runs an over as New Zealand posted 208 for five in their 20 overs.
Bangladesh showed more intent in this match compared to the previous two outings. They had a decent powerplay (52 for two) and had a run rate of nine an over at the halfway mark with as many as seven wickets in hand. But a quiet period of five overs after that (32 runs) hurt Bangladesh big time.
Shakib Al Hasan looked in great touch as he found gaps well on a big ground and timed the ball nicely. The southpaw struck eight fours and a six in his 44-ball-70 but it was not enough to prevent quite a heavy defeat.
Adam Milne displayed good pace and variations and picked up three for 24. Tim Southee and Michael Bracewell took two wickets each. Bangladesh finished with 160 for eight.
Phillips was named the player of the match.
