Kiwis flying high

New Zealand looked to be in a spot of bother towards the start of their innings in the third and final ODI against Bangladesh at the Saxton Oval yesterday.

Mustafizur Rahman had sent Tom Latham packing just four balls into the second over of the innings and Martin Guptill suddenly pulled up after completing a single before retiring hurt, effectively leaving the Kiwis 16 for two in the face of a 237-run target.

However, the Kiwis knew they still had a shot at the target, especially captain Kane Williamson at the crease. Even more encouragement came from the fact that at the other end stood Neil Broom, who had made a century in the last match and was high on confidence.

As they had hoped, the partnership proved to be the most fruitful one of the series as the pair shared a 179-run stand and took the Kiwis to the brink of a win before Broom departed for 97.

Speaking at the post-match presentation ceremony, the New Zealand skipper was effusive in his praise for Broom, who had made his comeback to the national team after a gap of six years when he took to the field against Bangladesh in the first ODI.

"Neil Broom adjusted superbly on two different surfaces. He is a very, very good player.”

Williamson also expressed his admiration for the way that Bangladesh had coped with the very unfamiliar conditions down under.

"Credit to Bangladesh for fighting in conditions they aren't entirely used to. The way seamers adjusted their lengths was very, very good, in addition to how Jeets [Jeetan Patel] and [Mitchell] Santner bowled."

While Williamson's demeanour in front of the press was a more subdued one, Jimmy Neesham shared an interesting exchange between himself and the skipper on Twitter after the match.

With the hosts requiring three to win, Neesham blasted a boundary and he claimed that he was only following his skipper's orders.

“I blocked out an over then he [Williamson] came down and said: “just bang it mate lets go have a beer”,” wrote Neesham on his Twitter page.