T20I series
Bangladesh opt to bat first in T20I series opener vs Pakistan
Bangladesh won the toss and opted to bat first in the T20I series opener against Pakistan at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on Friday.
Bangladesh included debutant Saif Hassan in this match. He replaced Liton Das who failed to perform well in the ICC World Cup and subsequently lost his place in the national team.
The right-handed batter played a total of 28 T20s so far and scored 682 runs, averaging 28.41. He has also played five Tests so far.
Also read: Bangladesh v Pakistan: Young Tigers look to restore pride lost in World Cup
Bangladesh are missing the services of Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib Al Hasan as well. Shakib has been overlooked due to an injury, while Mushfiqur was rested by the selectors -- a claim Mushfiqur denied, saying he was dropped.
Before this series, Bangladesh took on Pakistan in 12 T20Is with two wins.
Bangladesh (Playing XI): Mohammad Naim, Saif Hassan, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Afif Hossain, Mahmudullah(c), Nurul Hasan(w), Aminul Islam, Shoriful Islam, Mahedi Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman.
Also read: Babar looks to leave World Cup disappointment behind
Pakistan (Playing XI): Mohammad Rizwan(w), Babar Azam(c), Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Shoaib Malik, Shadab Khan, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Nawaz, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Haris Rauf.
Babar looks to leave World Cup disappointment behind
Pakistan are all set to take on the hosts Bangladesh in a three-match T20I series starting from Friday. Ahead of this series, Pakistan captain Babar Azam said they are looking forward to continuing their T20 World Cup momentum and forgetting the semifinal defeat to Australia.
Under Babar’s captaincy, Pakistan won five matches in a row in the Super 12s stage of the World Cup but stumbled against Australia in the semifinal. Despite that defeat, Pakistan gained much appreciation from the cricketing world.
“It certainly was a big disappointment to lose a game in the World Cup,” Babar told on Thursday in the pre-series press conference. “The whole team got hurt. But we are confident of rectifying our mistakes and going forward. We have faith among us.”
Also read: Bangladesh v Pakistan: Young Tigers look to restore pride lost in World Cup
Bangladesh are going to miss the services of Mushfiqur Rahim in this series. Shakib Al Hasan is also out of action due to an injury. Despite their absence, according to Babar, Bangladesh cannot be taken easily.
“They are seasoned campaigners, and they play BPL so we cannot beat them easily,” Babar added. “We don’t want to lose the momentum that we got in the World Cup. We also have Test matches in this series. So we should not take them lightly.”
While the first match of the series is on Friday, the second match will be played on Saturday, and the third and final match is scheduled for November 22 (Monday). All of these matches will be played at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur.
Also read: Is Mahmudullah unaware of Mushfiqur’s omission?
The first Test of the series will take place at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram from November 26, and the second Test will be played in Dhaka from December 4.
Latham, Allen propel Blackcaps to 161 in final T20
In the fifth and final T20 against Bangladesh, New Zealand posted a challenging total of 161 while batting first after winning the toss on Friday at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.
Tom Latham, the New Zealand captain, continued on a good run and posted an unbeaten 50 off 37 balls while Finn Allen hit 41 off 24 balls.
New Zealand made a good start as Allen and Rachin Ravindra added 58 runs in the opening stand— their highest in the partnership in this series.
Shoriful Islam, the left-arm Bangladeshi pacer, who was playing his first match in the series earned the first breakthrough removing Rachindra for 17 in the sixth over. In the same over, Shoriful removed the other opener as well.
Read: Bangladesh make four changes in final T20 vs New New Zealand
In the last six over, New Zealand scored 65 runs which helped them to post their highest total in this series.
The final match of the series was being played on a different wicket which was not used earlier in this event.
For Bangladesh, Shoriful bagged two while Taskin Ahmed, Nasum Ahmed and Afif Hossain took one wicket each.
Bangladesh made four changes to their playing XI in this match resting Shakib Al Hasan, Mustafizur Rahman, Mahedi Hasan and Mohammad Saifuddin. To replace them, Soumya Sarkar, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam and Shamim Hossain made it to the XI.
Bangladesh make four changes in final T20 vs New New Zealand
Bangladesh made four changes to their playing XI in the final match of the five-match T20I series against New Zealand on Friday.
The hosts lost the toss and will bowl first.
Read:Bangladesh’s celebrated umpire Nadir Shah dies at 57
Both the team will observe a one-minute silence in memory of Nadir Shah, an umpire who died on Friday morning. He was battling with cancer for the last two years.
After securing a series win, Bangladesh rested Shakib Al Hasan, Mustafizur Rahman, Mohammad Saifuddin and Mahedi Hasan. To replace them, Soumya Sarkar, Shamim Hossain, Shoriful Islam and Taskin Ahmed made it to the playing XI.
In the first four matches, Bangladesh played with an unchanged team while New Zealand kept changing the combination.
Bangladesh won three of the first four matches of the series and secured a series win. Ahead of this series, Bangladesh beat Australia 4-1 in a five-match T20 series.
Read:BAN vs. NZ 2021: Top Performers in Bangladesh's Series-Clinching Victory Over New Zealand
Bangladesh (Playing XI): Mohammad Naim, Liton Das, Soumya Sarkar, Mushfiqur Rahim, Afif Hossain, Nurul Hasan (w), Mahmudullah Riyad (c), Shamim Hossain, Nasum Ahmed, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam
New Zealand (Playing XI): Finn Allen, Rachin Ravindra, Will Young, Colin de Grandhomme, Tom Latham(w/c), Henry Nicholls, Cole McConchie, Scott Kuggeleijn, Ajaz Patel, Jacob Duffy, Ben Sears
Tigers record maiden T20I series win vs New Zealand
Bangladesh beat New Zealand by six wickets in the fourth match on Wednesday clinching their first T20I series sweep against the Kiwis at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.
Tigers scripted their historic win with one match to play in the five-match series. It came not long after Bangladesh stunned Australia by wrapping for the first time a five-match T20I series against them 4-1 at the same stadium.
Bangladesh won the first match of the series by seven wickets, the second match by four runs, but they lost the third by 52 runs. They came back strongly in the fourth match, making their third win in the series.
It was Bangladesh’s first T20I series win against the Blackcaps. Before this series, Bangladesh took on the Kiwis in 10 matches but failed to win any of them.
On Wednesday New Zealand won the toss and posted only 93 while batting first. In reply, Bangladesh chased down the target of 94 in 19.1 overs with six wickets in hand.
Mahmudullah Riyad, the T20I captain and Afif Hossain remained unbeaten for 43 and 6 respectively.
Read: New Zealand opt to bat first in 4th T20I vs Bangladesh
Bangladesh lost the first wickets in the third over, and subsequently, they lost two more wickets in quick succession. Liton Das (6), Shakib Al Hasan (8) and Mushfiqu Rahim (0) failed to shine with the bat.
New Zealand bounce back as Tigers suffer first defeat
New Zealand bounced back strongly beating the hosts Bangladesh by 52 runs on Sunday in the third match of the five-match T20I series at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.
Bangladesh won the first two matches of the series, and they had a good chance to wrap up the series with two matches to play. But yet another poor batting performance handed the Kiwis a big victory and stay alive in the series.
New Zealand have won the toss and opted to bat first. They posted a challenging total of 128 on the tricky Dhaka surface thanks to the 66-run stand in the sixth wicket by Henry Nicholls and Tom Blundell.
In reply, the hosts tumbled for 76, their second-lowest in the format, and lost the match by 52 runs.
Bangladesh never looked to dominate the Kiwis as they did in the first two matches. The hosts lost the first four wickets inside the power play. Openers, Mohammad Naim and Liton Das, returned to the dressing room in a span of one run.
Liton smashed three fours and hinted that he would enjoy batting, but he failed to continue and fell for 15. He perished to Cole McConchie. In the very next over, Naim was removed by Rachin Ravindra.
Also read: Tigers do enough to see off Latham's Black Caps in 2nd T20I
Mahedi Hasan, who got a chance to bat up of the order, failed to justify the decision as he only scored one run, and right after him, Shakib Al Hasan was out for a duck. Both Mahedi and Shakib were hunted by Ajaz Patel.
The onus was on Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah Riyad, Afif Hossain and Nurul Hasan to keep the Tigers in the match. While Mushfiqur was firm at one end of the wicket, Mahmudullah, Afif and Sohan fell in quick succession.
Eventually, Bangladesh tumbled for 76 all out in 20 overs with Mushfiqur remained unbeaten for 20 off 37 balls.
For New Zealand, Ajaz bagged four wickets while McConchie took three.
Earlier, New Zealand failed to secure a good opening stand once again as they posted 16 on the first wicket. Mustafizur Rahman earned the first breakthrough for the Tigers removing Finn Allen for 15.
Allen was playing his first match in this series. He was tested positive for Covid-19 ahead of the series. He has recently returned negative in two Covid-19 tests and joined the New Zealand team.
Also read: Tigers eye to seal series against Kiwis on Sunday
For Bangladesh, Mohammad Saifuddin bagged two wickets conceding 28 runs in four overs while Mahedi Hasan, Mustafiz, and Mahmudullah Riyad took one wicket each.
It was the 100th T20I for Mahmudullah. He became the first Bangladeshi cricketer to have played 100 T20Is.
The hosts fielded an unchanged playing XI, while the visitors made three changes.
They overlooked Hamish Bennett, Ben Sears and Doug Bracewell to pave the way for Finn Allen, Scott Kuggeleijn, Jacob Duffy.
The remaining matches of the series will take place on September 8 and 10 at the same venue. Bangladesh need to win any of those matches to seal the series while the Blackcaps need to win both for the same.
Bangladesh require 129 to wrap up series vs New Zealand
Bangladesh need to score 129 to wrap up the five-match T20I series against New Zealand with two matches to play. In the third match on Sunday, New Zealand batted first and posted 128 for 5 in 20 overs.
Henry Nicholls scored 36— the highest by any New Zealand batsman, while Tom Blundell scored 30. Both of them were unbeaten adding 66 runs in the sixth wicket stand.
Read:New Zealand opt to bat first against Bangladesh in 3rd T20I
New Zealand failed to secure a good opening stand once again as they posted 16 on the first wicket. Mustafizur Rahman, made the first breakthrough for the Tigers removing Finn Allen for 15.
Allen was playing his first match in this series. He was tested positive for Covid-19 ahead of the series. He has recently returned negative in two Covid-19 tests and joined the New Zealand team.
For Bangladesh, Mohammad Saifuddin bagged two wickets conceding 28 runs in four overs while Mahedi Hasan, Mustafiz, and Mahmudullah Riyad took one wicket each.
It was the 100th T20I for Mahmudullah. He became the first Bangladeshi cricketer to have played 100 T20Is.
The hosts fielded an unchanged playing XI, while the visitors made three changes.
They overlooked Hamish Bennett, Ben Sears and Doug Bracewell to pave the way for Finn Allen, Scott Kuggeleijn, Jacob Duffy.
Read:Tigers eye to seal series against Kiwis on Sunday
Bangladesh XI: Liton Das, Mohammad Naim, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Afif Hossain, Mahmudullah Riayad, Nurul Hasan Sohan, Mahedi Hasan, Mohammad Saifuddin, Nasum Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman
New Zealand (Playing XI): Finn Allen, Rachin Ravindra, Will Young, Tom Latham(w/c), Colin de Grandhomme, Henry Nicholls, Tom Blundell, Cole McConchie, Scott Kuggeleijn, Ajaz Patel, Jacob Duffy
Tigers do enough to see off Latham's Black Caps in 2nd T20I
New Zealand captain Tom Latham's valiant knock took Friday's 2nd T20I against Bangladesh in Mirpur right down to the wire, but it wasn't enough as the Tigers registered a last ball win that puts them on the cusp of another series victory.
Chasing 142 to win and tie the series at 1-1, New Zealand needed 28 runs off the last 2 overs with Latham batting on 52 and McConchie on eight.
The sprightly Mohammad Saifuddin conceded eight runs off the 19th over, leaving 20 runs for Mustafizur Rahman to defend off the last over.
Four balls later, New Zealand needed 13 off 2 deliveries- impossible unless the ever-reliable Fizz strayed and gave away extras.
Amazingly, the man whose immaculate control and stinginess has been a hallmark of the Tigers' home season in 2021, did just that: a slower ball went badly wrong and became an above waist-high beamer, that Latham - while ducking to avoid it - managed to divert with a faint touch of his bat to the boundary behind the wicket.
It would count for 5 with the umpire's signal for the waist-high no ball, and the next ball would be a free hit.
Suddenly there was a buzz around the ground as New Zealand, from having been resigned to defeat 30 seconds earlier, suddenly smelt a chance with 8 needed off 2.
But Bangladesh's man for the death overs, Mustafiz, shook off the previous delivery and pulled it back again. Latham ran like the wind to convert a one into two off the penultimate ball of the innings, keeping the strike with 6 to win off the last ball.
Mustafiz kept his cool to cramp the Kiwi captain for room with the last ball of the match, that went for just a single on the leg side - and so Bangladesh won the highest-scoring match of their 2021 home season by just 4 runs.
The visitors failed to have a good start while chasing the challenging target of 142 runs as they lost two early wickets for 18 runs.
Read: Bangladesh-New Zealand T20 series: PM greets Tigers for going 2-0 up
The first wicket, Rachin Ravindra, was taken by Shakib Al Hasan for 10, and he was partnered well by Mahedi Hasan, who removed Tom Blundell for 6. But Latham and Will Young recovered well for the third wicket adding 43 off 47 balls.
Young fell for 22 off 28 as Shakib’s second wicket, but Latham kept the scoreboard afloat. He eventually remained unbeaten on 65 off 49 balls - arguably the innings of the T20I summer in Bangladesh - but failed to seal the game for the visitors.
Latham's unbeaten knock was also the highest individual score by any batsman in the seven T20Is played at Mirpur since August, involving Bangladesh, Australia and New Zealand.
New Zealand ended up on 137 for five in 20 overs.
For Bangladesh, Shakib and Mahedi bagged two wickets each while Nasum Ahmed took one. Mustafizur gave away 34 runs without any luck.
Earlier, Bangladesh made a good start after winning the toss and opted to bat first as Liton Das and Mohammad Naim put up a 59-run stand at the opening. Their steady stays were a clear indication of a better wicket in Mirpur.
But Bangladesh’s progress stumbled when Liton fell prey to Rachin, and off the next ball, Mushfiqur Rahim was stumped by a great job behind by the stumps by the New Zealand captain Latham.
Shakib also failed to continue on a good run. He fell prey to Cole McConchie scoring 12 of seven balls with two fours. It looked an easy catch for the debutant Ben Sears, but he missed it at the first chance. He managed to get it at the second chance after the ball bounced on his leg.
After Shakib’s dismissal, Afif Hossain also returned to the dressing quickly. He managed to score only three in three balls.
Mahmudullah was firm at the other end of the wicket and remained unbeaten for 37 off 32 balls with five fours. He was accompanied by Nurul Hasan Sohan at the sixth wicket stand when Bangladesh added 32 off 22 balls. Before getting dismissed off the last ball of the innings, Sohan scored 13 off nine balls.
For New Zealand, spinner Rachin bagged three wickets conceding 22 runs while Ajaz Patel, Cole McConchie and Hamish Bennett took one wicket each.
The next matches of the series will take place on September 5, 8 and 10 at the same venue. All the matches will be played at 4 p.m. Bangladesh time.
With today's win, Mahmudullah Riyad registered his 12th win as captain in T20Is - making him the most successful Bangladeshi captain in the format.
Bangladesh-New Zealand T20 series: PM greets Tigers for going 2-0 up
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Friday congratulated the Tigers for their second consecutive win against touring New Zealand in the five-match T20 series.
Bangladesh beat New Zealand by 4 runs in the low-scoring second T20 at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium to go 2-0 up in the series.
Read: PM greets Tigers for first ever T20 win against New Zealand
Chasing 142 runs, the Kiwis needed six off the last ball but managed just a single as the Tigers continued their winning streak – sixth in seven games.
Mahmudullah warns against overconfidence before NZ T20Is
Bangladesh T20I captain Mahmudullah Riyad has advised his boys against being overconfident as they prepare to play the five-match T20I series against New Zealand starting on Wednesday.
He, however, said the Bangladesh players have the ability to beat the Blackcaps in this series.
The Tigers go into the series with their first-ever 4-1 series win against Australia, which surely is boosting the confidence of the Bangladesh T20I side.
“As I always say that the T20 is a format where you can count yourself the favourite,” Mahmudullah said. “But being overconfident might play a negative role in our mind. To get successful in this format, we have to have the spirit to play well. If we can ensure it, we may have a good chance (to win this series).”
Read: BAN vs. NZ 2021: Milestones Bangladesh Cricketers Can Achieve in the T20I Series
Bangladesh played a total of 10 matches against New Zealand in this format and failed to win any of them. Mahmudullah believes the team should continue on being hungry to win against New Zealand.
“We have played well against Zimbabwe, and we also played good cricket at home against Australia. We have to keep this hunger intact. It will surely bring positive results for us,” Mahmudullah added.
The squad that the New Zealand Cricket has sent to Bangladesh doesn’t have any member of their World Cup squad. Despite that, Mahmudullah said that it’s required to play disciplined cricket against New Zealand to beat them.
Bangladesh team management is sweating over deciding the opening stand. In the absence of Tamim Iqbal, the spot for the number one opener is quite open.
“Liton (Das) is outstanding, and Soumya (Sarkar) is also good. Along with them, (Mohammad) Naim is at the top ranking among us. We are not worried much about it. We just have to ensure that we can contribute to the team. Here is some positive competition in the team, and it will surely help us,” Mahmudullah further told in a virtual press conference on Tuesday.
Read: BAN vs. NZ: Bangladesh's Three Memorable Victories Against New Zealand
Bangladesh will split the keeping work in this series to Mushfiqur Rahim and Nurul Hasan Sohan, as the head coach Russell Domingo told the media.
According to him, Sohan will play the role of the wicketkeeper in the first two matches while Mushfiqur will do it in the next two matches, and the team management will decide who will be the keeper in the fifth match.
Tom Latham, the T20I captain of New Zealand, said the whole Bangladesh team is a big threat for them.
“They have threats all around their group. We saw how well they played against Australia. They have some great spinners and experience in the group. Our batting will be challenged by their spinners. They have some fearless batsmen, who take the game head-on,” Latham said in a virtual press meet also on Tuesday.