Sodhi had a memorable day, leaving the hosts with some work to do ahead of the final ODI, he made 35 off 39 with three sixes and led New Zealand to a score of 254 while he also destroyed Bangladesh’s batting by taking 6 wickets and seal the game for Black Caps.
New Zealand had won the toss and decided to bat first and were in trouble at 36 for 3. With the new ball, Mustafizur Rahman used his fizz mode and extracted a quick bounce to nick off Will Young for an eight-ball duck.
Mahmud frequently observed swing to provide difficulties for batters. Allen had scored four off the first balls of the first two overs, but he was unable to maintain the pattern. When he flashed at a full ball from Mustafizur and was caught by Sarkar at first slip, he was out at the start of the seventh over.
Henry Nicholls was forced to rebuild the New Zealand innings for the second time in two one-day internationals, a task made simpler by Tom Blundell’s desire for a fight and the new ball losing some of its sting. The team overcame the obstacles posed by Mahmud and the debutant Khaled Ahmed by catching the good balls and punishing the short, wide, or over-pitched ones. It was just what New Zealand needed after they couldn’t score off 45 of the first 60 deliveries they faced.
After the 26th over, Blundell reached fifty, but two balls later, Khaled snatched Nicholls for 49 with some more bounce and subtle seam movement. Although their 95-run partnership had managed to pull through, Mahedi and Nasum were responsible for New Zealand’s second collapse of the innings.
The visitors appeared to have trouble winning the match with nearly 12 overs remaining and seven wickets lost, but Sodhi and company took advantage of their opportunity and dominated.
When Jamieson joined Ish Sodhi in the 39th over, New Zealand was 187 for 7 and Sodhi was on 5 off 13. Before Sodhi heaved a length ball from Nasum over long-on, they survived the better part of three overs. Before Mahedi caught and bowled him, Jamieson hit a couple of boundaries himself.
When New Zealand reached 224 for 8 in the 46th over, Hasan Mahmud ran Sodhi out for backing up too much at the non-striker’s end. It appears that some players are beginning to grow accustomed to this form of dismissal because Sodhi was leaving while sporting nothing but a smile on his face.
However, a little while later, Bangladesh’s acting skipper Litton Das decided against appealing and instead invited Sodhi back to continue his innings. Sodhi came back with an even greater grin on his face, gave bowler Mahmud a bear embrace, and led New Zealand to a score of 254 before leaving.
When he was run out and recalled, he was on 17 off 26. He then made 35 off 39 with three sixes. For the last three wickets, New Zealand scored 67 runs.
After Tamim Iqbal and Tanzid Hasan had scored 23 runs in the previous two overs and set up a base from which Bangladesh could attack, Sodhi was introduced in the ninth over of the chase.
He got two wickets in his second over, first getting Soumya Sarkar caught and bowled off a leading edge after luring Tanzid into a huge shot with a full, loopy leg-break that was misplayed to mid-off.
When a Sodhi googly took the inside edge onto the stumps, Towhid Hridoy’s attempt to rebuild the innings was unsuccessful. The sole designated top-order batter, Tamim, paddled a ball with significant spin to the wicketkeeper.
Sodhi began his first spell, with the hosts at 42 for 1 after eight overs. By the time it was over, Bangladesh had collapsed to 93 for 5 in 19 overs while he was on fire with 4 for 29 off six.
Mahmudullah, who was playing his first ODI innings in six months, and Mahedi Hasan put in a valiant effort to hold off Jamieson, Rachin Ravindra, and Lockie Ferguson for little over ten overs.
After a 35-ball slump, they even started to hit a boundary in every over. Sodhi then returned and, with the first delivery of his second spell, removed Mahedi’s middle stump to register his first ODI five-for.
After a few quiet overs, Mahmudullah successfully executed a rank long-hop from Cole McConchie to Finn Allen at short fine leg.
Nasum Ahmed extended the innings with a 30-ball 21, smashing two sixes while doing so, but Bangladesh could only add 19 runs for the last three wickets when Sodhi’s contribution with the bat earlier in the day made a difference.
It was his 35 off 39 balls that propelled the visitors from 187 for 7 to 254, in the same way that his 6 for 39 destroyed Bangladesh’s batting order.
New Zealand skipper, Lockie Ferguson:
“Excellent win by the boys. The way Henry and Blundell batted today took off the pressure. The way Ish bowled today was exceptional. Nice to see after all the hard work he has done. Nice to see Ish get the runs and Kyle as well. Nice team performance.”
Ish Sodhi:
“Really good day. Coming on the winning side… historically, we haven’t done too well. Nice of Litton for calling me back. We thought it would start turning later in the day. Even Ravindra and McConchie got it to spin later. Not every day is like that. This is really a tough place to come and win.”
Litton Das:
“Their lower order did really well. The wicket was not bad to bat on. Probably [we were] not up to the mark in batting. Our two senior guys played well [with the bat]. Somebody has to get an 80 or 90 or 100.”