Mirpur: Right-arm pacer Nahid Rana’s 5-wicket haul and half-centuries from Tanzid Hasan Najmul Hossain Santo helped Bangladesh to a comprehensive 6-wicket victory in the second ODI against New Zealand at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on Monday.
New Zealand captain Tom Latham’s decision to bat first backfired as the visitors were bowled out for 198 in 48.4 overs.
Left-arm opener Nick Kelly stood out for the Blackcaps with a brave half-century of 83 off 102 balls that included 14 fours. Middle-order batsman Muhammad Abbas scored 19 off 34 balls for New Zealand’s next best run.
Nahid led Bangladesh’s bowling attack with sensational figures of 5/32 from his 10 overs, which earned him the man of the match award.
He was supported by Shoriful Islam with two wickets, while Taskin Ahmed, Sowmiya Sarkar and Rishad Hossain chipped in with a scalp each.
In turn, the home side made light work of chasing a target of 199 runs with 4 wickets and 87 balls to spare.
However, the chase got off to a mixed start as Bangladesh lost Saif Hasan and Sarkar for 8 each with 21 runs in 4 overs.
Following an early stumble, Shando joined opener Danzith in the middle and the duo put on a mammoth 120-run partnership for the third wicket and batted smartly to anchor the run chase.
The match-defining stand eventually culminated in the 23rd over when Jayden Lennox dismissed Tanzid, who was the top scorer for Bangladesh with 76 off 58 balls with 10 fours and 4 sixes.
Lennox dealt another blow to Bangladesh’s quest by dismissing veteran Liton Das, who scored 7 off 11 balls in his next over.
Meanwhile, Shando then put on a brief 13-run partnership with Dowhit Hridoi, who retired soon after his half-century and pulled back with a 71-ball 50 with the help of five fours and two sixes.
Hridoi then took control of Bangladesh’s run chase and smashed an unbeaten 30.
Among New Zealand’s bowlers, Lennox took 2 for 36 from his four overs, while Will O’Rourke and Nathan Smith claimed a wicket each.
The six-wicket win helped Bangladesh level the three-match series 1-1, with the decider to be played in Chattogram on Thursday.