Tamim Iqbal and Mohammad Mithun hit a fifty each as the Tigers posted a challenging total of 271 runs for six wickets in the second ODI against New Zealand at Hagley Oval in Christchurch on Tuesday.
Riding on the half-centuries by Tamim and Mithun, Bangladesh also reached their second-highest ODI total in New Zealand. The Tigers scored 288/7 at Hamilton in 2015, their highest ODI total in that country.
Earlier, New Zealand won the toss and sent Bangladesh to bat first.
The visitors were extra cautious from the start of the innings. Tamim smashed Trent Boult in the first over for a four, but later on, he played slowly against the Kiwi pace-attack.
Despite the vigilance, Bangladesh lost Liton Das in the very second over of the match.
Liton who fell to a short-ball from Matt Henry, was, in fact, was standing outside the crease. He had picked the length early and was also in a good place to play the short ball, but the placement was wrong. Will Young took an easy catch to remove Liton for a duck.
Defying pace and bounce, Tamim and Soumya Sarkar added 81 runs for the second wicket. Soumya looked well set, hitting three fours and one six, but he got dismissed off a wide ball from Mitchel Santer. Soumya came ahead and missed the ball but the wicketkeeper didn’t miss the chance of an easy stumping.
Bangladesh lost the third wicket in the form of Tamim, who ran himself out at 78 off 108. It was his call to run for a tight single which was never there and he failed to reach the crease before his stumps were shattered.
It was Tamim’s 50th fifty in ODI cricket— most by any Bangladeshi in this format of the game.
Mushfiqur Rahim looked comfortable at the start of his innings but failed to prove that at the end. He tried to scope for a couple of times but didn’t manage to complete what he wanted to.
Mohammad Mithun was superb in the middle order, hitting 73 not-out off 57 balls with six fours and two sixes.
Unlike the other Bangladeshi batsmen, Mithun never looked shaky against the barrage of short balls from the New Zealanders.
In the last 10 overs, Bangladesh scored 88 runs with the help of Mithun’s fifty. He reached his sixth ODI fifty off 43 balls with a six off James Neesham during the 45th over.
Bangladesh eventually ended up scoring 271 for six in 50 overs. It was a far better performance by Bangladeshi batsmen considering the nightmarish batting display in the first game in Dunedin.
