Bangladesh lost the fifth T20I match against New Zealand on Friday (September 10), bringing the series to a 3-2 finish. This was Bangladesh's first-ever Twenty20 International series victory over New Zealand, as well as the tigers' third consecutive bilateral T20I series triumph. Bangladesh have won nine of their previous thirteen Twenty20 International matches, suggesting that the players have grasped the recipe for success in the shorter format of the game. Several players made a big difference in the series win against New Zealand. Let's have a look at the Bangladesh players' performance in the BAN vs. NZ T20I Series 2021. Performance of the Bangladesh Cricket Team in the BAN vs. NZ T20I Series 2021 Batting/Top order Bangladesh's batting was the biggest letdown in the BAN vs. NZ T20I Series 2021. Bangladesh have struggled in the opening position in the absence of experienced Tamim Iqbal. In the Zimbabwe and Australia series, the selectors tested Mohammad Naim and Soumya Sarkar. Soumya scored some runs against Zimbabwe but failed miserably against Australia at home. He was dropped for the New Zealand series to make room for Liton Das. However, Liton Das did not impress the selectors as well, scoring only 65 runs in five innings against New Zealand. Liton and Naim only had one 50-run opening partnership. Mohammad Naim was Bangladesh's most consistent opener, scoring 105 runs at an 87.50 strike rate in the New Zealand series. Veteran all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan continued his poor run of form with the bat, he only made 45 runs in four innings.  Read: New Zealand sign off with a comfortable win Batting/Middle-Order Mushfiqur Rahim made his comeback in the New Zealand series after missing the Australia series. Mushfiqur was completely out of touch with the bat, scoring only 39 runs in five innings at a strike rate of 52. Mushfiq's performance in the ICC T20 World Cup will be vital and he has to be in the finest possible form prior to the big event. Mahmudullah Riyad had a few solid innings, notably a match-winning 43* in the fourth encounter. Bangladesh captain was the second most run-scorer in the series (120) behind Tom Latham.  Besides, Afif Hossain played an encouraging knock despite Bangladesh's 27-run loss in the fifth match. Afif remained undefeated with a 49* off 33 balls knock. Nurul Hasan and Mohammad Saifuddin had an opportunity to impress the selectors in the third match, but they couldn't do much with the bat throughout the 5-match series. Read Youth ODI series: Bangladesh go 1-0 up against Afghanistan Bowling/Pace Mustafizur Rahman and Mohammad Saifuddin both played for Bangladesh in the first four matches and fared well for the home team. They made good use of the surfaces and took wickets when the team needed them most. Mustafizur Rahman, in particular, shined with his off-cutter and slower deliveries. His lethal accuracy frightened the New Zealand batsmen throughout the series. Mustafizur took the second most wickets in four innings with an incredible 10.7 strike rate. Mohammad Saifuddin, on the other hand, took 5 wickets. Taskin Ahmed and Shoriful Islam took their places in the fifth match. The curator prepared a fairly sporting pitch for the final T20I, which is why Taskin and Shoriful struggled to stop the run flow. They gave away a lot of runs but still managed to get few wickets. Read Latham, Allen propel Blackcaps to 161 in final T20 Bowling/Spin Mirpur's pitches favored the spinners, and spinners of both sides imposed a lot of pressure on the batsmen. Bangladesh's most successful spinner and second-highest wicket-taker in the series, Nasum Ahmed took 8 wickets at a strike rate of 10.5 in five matches. Off-spinner Mahedi Hasan has continued to amaze with his wicket-taking abilities. He opened the innings in three of Bangladesh's four matches and provided early breakthroughs for the team. Mahedi took 5 wickets in the series. Veteran Shakib Al Hasan took four wickets in the first two games but was wicketless in the following two. Shakib is only two wickets away from being the T20I's all-time leading wicket-taker. Read: ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021: A new challenge for Shamim Fielding We have seen a significant improvement in Bangladesh's ground fielding, catching, and body language when fielding in recent series. Bangladeshi fielders took some spectacular catches, and outfield players gave it their all to save extra runs in the BAN vs. NZ T20I Series 2021. These are positive indicators that the team is on its way to becoming one of the world's best fielding units. Wicket-keeper Nurul Hasan Sohan had a terrific series against New Zealand. He is quick to act and constantly encourages bowlers to keep the batsmen under strain.  Bottom Line Except for selected players, none of the Bangladesh players performed well against New Zealand in the BAN vs. NZ T20I Series 2021 as reflected on the report card. Prior to the series, Mahmudullah Riyad-led Bangladesh T20I side was anticipated to play well against a second-string New Zealand team on Mirpur's slow surfaces. They did win the Twenty20 International series, but their batting performance was dreadful throughout the contest. Batsmen should have performed better in this series to recover confidence ahead of the ICC Twenty20 World Cup, which begins next month. Read Bangladesh’s celebrated umpire Nadir Shah dies at 57

Bangladesh take a 1-0 lead in the BAN vs. NZ 2021 T20I series after defeating New Zealand by 7 wickets in the first match. Bangladesh will have a chance to extend their series lead if they win the second match on Friday (September 3). Bangladesh will be favorites in the next match if they can maintain their present form at home, but New Zealand will attempt to tie the series. Bangladesh's bowlers did an outstanding job in the first match, allowing the host to win easily. This article covers the opening match of the BAN vs. NZ 2021 Twenty20 International series.   BAN vs. NZ 2021: The First T20I Match Report The weather was nice in Dhaka, ideal for a T20 contest. The New Zealand batsmen appeared to be battling with the pitch conditions throughout the game. They are not used to playing on such a spin surface, especially in T20 cricket. Read: BAN vs. NZ 2021: Milestones Bangladesh Cricketers Can Achieve in the T20I Series New Zealand made a poor decision by electing to bat first on an unfamiliar pitch. They kept losing wickets from the start of the innings and were finally bowled out for only 60 runs with 19 balls to spare, their lowest total ever in the T20 format. The Sri Lanka team similarly bowled New Zealand out for 60 runs in the 2014 ICC T20 World Cup in Bangladesh. The match took place at Chattogram. Bangladesh’s Chase  Bangladesh's campaign was optimistic that they would be able to comfortably chase down the target after a stellar fielding effort. The New Zealand spinners, though, took two wickets quickly while defending the low total, making the Bangladesh camp panic. Mohammad Naim tried to find a gap in the cover region, but all he discovered was Henry Nicholls in the short cover. Bangladesh found themselves in a tough position all of a sudden, and they were 7/2 at the time. Later, Bangladesh were able to turn the game around thanks to a 30-run partnership between Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim.  Read Shakib admits pitch even 'tougher' than Australia series The Shakib-Mushfiqur partnership took the total to 37 before newcomer Rachin Ravindra removed Shakib (25) with a length ball in the 10th over. Bangladesh didn't lose any wicket after that, and they comfortably reached the target in the last delivery of the 15th over. Mushfiqur Rahim (16) hit the winning shot in the deep midwicket area with his trademark pull shot. Captain Mahmudullah Riyad was undefeated for 14* runs. New Zealand Innings  Mahmudullah Riyad handed the ball over to off-spinner Mahadi Hasan in search of an early breakthrough. He did not disappoint and Rachin Ravindra was out in the third ball of the innings.  Mahmudullah's strategy of using multiple spinners in the power play to unsettle the batsmen paid off well. He employed Mahadi, Shakib, Nasum, and Mustafizur in the power play and took four important wickets in the first four overs.  Read: BAN vs. NZ: Bangladesh's Three Memorable Victories Against New Zealand Captain Tom Latham (18) and Henry Nicholls (18) tried to rebuild the innings with a 34-run stand for the fifth wicket, but it only lasted until the 11th over. New Zealand would have scored more than 100 runs in their innings if they had stayed at the crease till the end. Bangladesh would have struggled to chase 100 runs on such a pitch. Mohammad Saifuddin broke this partnership, but all credit goes to Nasum Ahmed, who took a superb catch in the deep square leg region. New Zealand were 43/5 at that stage, and they were on the verge of scoring their lowest ever T20I total. That fear came true as they were bowled out for 60 in 16.5 overs. The left-arm pacer, Mustafizur Rahman did what he does best. He took three wickets in the death overs. Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan, Nasum Ahmed, and Mohammad Saifuddin each took two wickets. Read BCB announces new central contracts Player of the Match  Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan was named Player of the Match for his excellent bowling and batting performance. Shakib's bowling figure in the match was 4-0-10-2, in addition to his 25 runs. Bottom Line  A turning pitch aided Bangladesh spinners in choking out New Zealand batsmen in the opening of a five-match BAN vs. NZ 2021 series. Mustafizur Rahman was the only pacer in the playing XI for the host, and the strategy worked perfectly. Bangladesh's management is expected to use three spinners as well in the second encounter. However, New Zealand have more spinning choices than Australia, and they might cause Bangladesh batsmen more trouble than Australia did in the previous series. So, a spin-friendly pitch may not ensure Bangladesh's victory in every match in the series. The second encounter is likely to be much more exciting. Read Bangladesh overpower New Zealand on tricky surface