New Zealand comprehensively beat Bangladesh by 8 wickets to make 3 out of 3 in the CWC 2023 so far
Williamson ended his innings in the 39th over, Mitchell continued to attack Bangladesh’s bowlers until the 43rd over, when the chase was completed and Mitchell scored an unbeaten 89 from 67 balls, smashing six fours and four sixes while Kiwis made 3 wins in 3 games of the CWC 2023.
New Zealand had won the toss and decided to bowl first. Trent Boult’s opening ball was directly into Matt Henry’s hands at fine-leg by Litton Das. Coming down the track, he greeted the ball with a well-timed stroke, although he attempted it with the bat at a different angle.
After Hannan Sarkar against Chaminda Vaas of Sri Lanka in 2003, Litton became just the second Bangladeshi opener to be dismissed on the opening ball of a World Cup game.
In a rapid recovery partnership with Mehidy, Tanzid Hasan hit four boundaries, but the rookie left-hander again failed on 16. Tanzid was dismissed badly in the eighth over as he clipped a ball to short square-leg.
In the 12th over, Mehidy drew Lockie Ferguson into fine-leg’s lap for 30, resulting in a third soft dismissal. In his 46-ball stay, he hit three excellent cover drives, but Bangladesh again put him in the batting position, which may be challenging at first.
When Najmul Hossain Shanto, who was in fine form, was blasted to midwicket by part-timer Glenn Philips, New Zealand reduced Bangladesh to 56 for 4 in the next over. Conway took a tumbling catch, but Bangladesh recovered with the help of their most experienced pair.
Shakib and Mushfiqur made 96 runs by pressing back against the New Zealand side. Mushfiqur didn’t waste any time in hitting Philips for a six with his go-to slog sweep.
Shakib pulled Henry before slamming Mitchell Santner for a straight four after two more Mushfiqur fours. As Bangladesh appeared to be on the way to recovery, Mushfiqur blasted Ferguson for his second six, over the third man.
But shortly after Mushfiqur scored fifty, Shakib cramped up. The Bangladesh captain removed his helmet as he hit Ravindra for a straight four and a six over midwicket after receiving some minor medical attention. He added another six off Ferguson, but the next ball, when attempting to slog the quick bowler again, he was out.
Mushfiqur quickly followed him back, but the Henry delivery that bowled him maintained incredibly low. Considering that he was sent in to revive Bangladesh’s innings, it was still a heroic performance.
Mahmudullah, who was batting at No. 8 for the first time in 13 years, was left to ensure a respectable finish since Tohwid Hridoy, who was now batting out of position at No. 7, was unable to continue. While he was unbeaten at 41 and helped Bangladesh bat out the entire 50 overs, but the total was still below par.
Rachin Ravindra, who was opening for the first time in ODIs, was dismissed by Mustafizur Rahman in the third over, giving Bangladesh some hope at the start of New Zealand’s 246-run chase.
Shortly after, Mustafizur created another opportunity when Conway, who was batting on 4, drove away from his body, but Mehidy Hasan Miraz missed the opportunity at point. Although it was tough, Bangladesh might have been charged by that one sticking.
Conway hit Shoriful Islam for two fours shortly after the reprieve to break free. In the tenth over, Williamson turned the tables on Shoriful, hitting him over point, through point, and cover. Before dropping Williamson at short midwicket with the New Zealand captain on 27, Taskin then went for two fours in the 13th over.
The second-wicket stand was broken by Shakib when he bowled Conway for 45 from 59 balls, breaking the tie. Conway missed the shot, hitting his back leg, and his attempt at a reverse sweep failed. The Bangladeshi team received little assistance from the Conway wicket, though, as the next hitter, Mitchell, stepped up the tempo right away.
He began his innings with a six against Shakib, and Williamson then lifted his opponent over long-on for his first six. For the following ten overs, Williamson continued to score the odd boundary, hitting Shakib and Mehidy for four more before Mitchell got back into action with a punishing pull off Taskin and two consecutive sixes off Shakib and Taskin.
Even after Williamson ended his innings in the 39th over, Mitchell continued to attack Bangladesh’s bowlers until the 43rd over, when the chase was completed. Mitchell scored an unbeaten 89 from 67 balls, smashing six fours and four sixes.
Kane Williamson, the New Zealand Captain:
“[on his finger] just got a bit fat and colorful straight away so got a scan tomorrow, but hopefully it’s okay. [on the knee] it’s okay, glad to get through the game from a knee perspective, but from a team perspective, it was great as well. I thought the guys in the first half of the performance were excellent. They just banged the wicket hard, it was a bit variable. And then later it was nice to build those partnerships and take the game late. Midway through the powerplay, we realised that we should hit the surface. Not a bad surface, and a really good competitive wicket. [on Lockie] He was outstanding. You come here expecting the spinners to play a big role, but the seamers did really well today. Lockie just keeps running in, bowling at a high pace and he hasn’t had some of that good fortune, so thoroughly deserved. For both the seamers and the spinners. [getting back in the middle] It was nice to be out there and be a part of some of those partnerships, some tough periods with the new ball were hard work. But just wanted to build partnerships and get close to that target. [on Daryll Mitchell] He’s a great competitor, makes valuable contributions more often than not, he’s a team-first guy and he’s great to watch.”
Najmul Shanto:
“Shakib has gone for a scan after that we’ll know more. We didn’t bat well, same as the last match. We need to improve in the first 15 overs. There was a bit of extra bounce with the new ball but after that, the wicket was quite. The top order needs to bat more responsibly. It was a good wicket, so we just needed to be a bit more responsible at the start. Last match we didn’t bowl well but today everyone showed their character. If they continue like this it will be very good going forward. The biggest improvement is our fast bowling, if we bat well in the next few games it will be a different ball game.”
Lockie Ferguson, the Player of the Match:
“It was a good team effort. Created pressure throughout, which meant that I could do my role really. Compared to Hyderabad this had more bounce. I tried to test it out early with a newer ball. But it was a good all-round performance by the boys. It’s early stages, but it’s certainly nice three wins. But a long way to go. [on experience in India] Yeah it’s nice, haven’t played here before though, so nice to see a bit of pace on the wicket, we have Afghanistan next so hope to see a similar wicket.”