Bangladesh lose second ODI by seven wickets

Soumya Sarkar's record-breaking ton went in vain as New Zealand chased down Bangladesh's 292-run target with seven wickets to spare to win the second ODI of the three-match series and take an unassailable 2-0 lead at the Saxton Oval in Nelson today.

Nicholls made 95 while Young departed after 89 but their 128 partnership for the second wicket helped New Zealand reach 296-3 in 46.2 overs.

Tom Blundell hit a six to complete the chase, remaining unbeaten on 24 with skipper Tom Latham not out on 34 at the other end.

For Bangladesh, pacer Hasan Mahmud took a couple of wickets while Shoriful Islam claimed one as the bowlers could hardly trouble the Kiwi batters on a flat track in Nelson,

Earlier, Soumya smashed 169 off 151 balls -- the highest score by an Asian batter in ODIs in New Zealand -- to power Bangladesh to their best ever total against the Black Caps in New Zealand, 291.

Bangladesh had earlier lost the first ODI by 44 runs in DLS. The third match of the series will be played in Napier on Saturday.

This was Bangladesh's 18th defeat in ODIs against the hosts in New Zealand in as many matches.

Nicholls out for 95, Tigers staring at defeat

Henry Nicholls fell five runs fort of a century as New Zealand have reached 262 for three after 41 overs and are heading closer to a series-clinching win against Bangladesh in the second ODI of the three-match series at the Saxton Oval in Nelson today.

Nicholls pulled a Shoriful Islam delivery straight to Rishad Hossain at mid-wicket, which ended his 99-ball stay in the middle. The left-hander, who struck eight fours and a six, along with Will Young, who made 89, has taken the match away from Bangladesh.

Skipper Tom Lathan, 22 off 18 balls, has now been joined by Tom Blundell. 

Young gone for 89, but Kiwis on top

Hasan Mahmud claimed his second wicket to remove Will Young on 89 as New Zealand look well on their way to chasing down Bangladesh's target, reaching 204-2 after 33 overs in the second ODI of the three-match series at the Saxton Oval in Nelson today.

Young, who hit eight fours a couple of sixes in his knock, gave a return catch to Hasan in the penultimate ball of the 33rd over, which also brought an end to a 128-run partnership between him and Henry Nicholls, who is unbeaten on 63.

Kiwi skipper Tom Latham has now come to the middle.

Bangladesh are need of a few more quick wickets if they are to test the hosts, who are looking well on their way to chase down the total comfortably.

Kiwis look in control as Bangladesh search for wickets

After 21 overs, New Zealand look comfortable in their 292-run chase, reaching 132 for one as Bangladesh are desperately searching for their second wicket in the second ODI of the three-match series at the Saxton Oval in Nelson today.

Will Young has already completed his half-century and is batting on 62 and Henry Nicolls is giving him company with 23. The partnership has already added 56 runs off 60 deliveries and kept the required rate below six.

Debutant leg-spinner Rishad Hossain has joined the attack for Bangladesh, and conceded eight off his first two overs, yet to take a wicket.

Hasan gives Bangladesh first breakthrough

Bangladesh got their first breakthrough right after the first powerplay as Hasan Mahmud dismissed the dangerous-looking Rachin Ravindra for 45 off 33 balls as the Kiwis reached 76-1 after 11 overs chasing 292 in the second ODI of the three-match series at the Saxton Oval in Nelson today.

Ravindra, who had laced hit seven fours and a six, was caught at deep midwicket by Rishad Hossain.

His opening partner Will Young, was unbeaten on 30 and has been joined by Henry Nicholls.

The Bangladesh pace trio of Shoriful Islam, Hasan and Tanzim Hasan Sakib failed to make any inroads in the first powerplay where the Kiwis scored 61 runs.

Earlier, Soumya Sarkar hit his career-best ODI score of 169 off just 151 deliveries to help Bangladesh post 291 all out in 49.5 overs. 

Soumya's career-best 169 powers Tigers to 291

Soumya Sarkar hit his career-best ODI score of 169 off just 151 deliveries to help Bangladesh post 291 all out in 49.5 overs -- the highest ODI total for the Tigers against New Zealand in their backyard -- in their second of the three-match ODI series against New Zealand at Saxton Oval today. 

Soumya's exhilarating knock that featured 22 boundaries and two maximums ended in the final over of the innings when he gave a catch to extra cover while trying to hit a William O'Rourke delivery for a boundary. The left-hander's innings is now the second-best by a Bangladeshi in ODIs after Liton Das' 176 against Zimbabwe.

It was also Soumya's third ODI ton.  

Soumya also reached a significant milestone as his 169 is now the highest individual score by an Asian in New Zealand. He surpassed Sachin Tendulkar's previous best of 163 not out against New Zealand in Christchurch in 2009.  

Just after getting to the long-awaited three-figure mark off 116 deliveries, Soumya upped the ante, giving Bangladesh the much-needed boost in run-rate late in the innings. 

The next over after getting to his hundred, Soumya hit Adam Milne for consecutive boundaries -- one a drive over mid off and the other over mid-wicket on a short delivery -- in the 41st over. His best shot of the innings came in the following over of Milne when the left-handed batter charged down the ground to smack a short delivery over mid-wicket for a 90-meter six. 

With a flurry of boundaries, Soumya moved to 150 from 100 off just 28 deliveries.  

Soumya had starred in stands of 91, 61, and 40 for the fifth, sixth, and seventh wickets with Mushfiqur Rahim (45 off 57), Mehedi Hasan Miraz (19 off 26), and Tanzim Hasan Sakib (13 off 11) to help Bangladesh recover from a precarious 44 for three. 

For New Zealand, pacers Jacob Duffy and William O'Rourke took three wickets each, with the latter claiming all three wickets in the final over that helped the Kiwis keep the total below the 300-run mark. 

Soumya hits first ODI ton in over five years

Soumya Sarkar got the monkey off his back, smashing his third ODI century in the second ODI against New Zealand in Nelson today as he made a statement following a comeback to the national side. 

Soumya, however, rode heavily on his luck -- he was dropped twice, on 51 and 92, and also survived a close call on 58 -- on way to hitting a century off 116 balls. This was also Soumya's first ODI ton in over five years. The left-hander's last hundred in the format came back in 2018 against Zimbabwe in Chattogram. 

The left-hander was called back into the side after being dropped from the World Cup squad following a long lean patch that resulted in him playing just two ODIs this year before this series. With not much of eye-catching performances in the domestic circuit in the recent past, his return to the national side surprised many and provided scope for scepticism and questions. 

However, despite a handful of close shaves, Soumya managed to survive to get to a landmark score that will surely give the left-handed batter a much-needed morale boost.  

While Soumya played aggressively to score runs and got spared on multiple occasions, Bangladesh lost wickets almost everytime things started to look good. The latest wicket of Mushfiqur, on 45, ended a crucial 91-run fifth-wicket stand, leaving the Tigers to rebuild once again in the game. 

After 40 overs, Bangladesh moved on to 194 for five with Soumya unbeaten on 102 off 118 and Mehedi Hasan Miraz not out on 10 off 17.

Soumya, Mushy star in fifty-plus stand   

Bangladesh have started to look a bit more comfortable in the game as Soumya Sarkar and Mushfiqur Rahim started the rebuilding work following an unfortunate run-out of Towhid Hridoy in the second of the three-match ODI series against New Zealand at Saxton Oval in Nelson today. 

After having been reduced to three for 44 in 9.4 overs, the Tigers regrouped through a 36-run stand between Soumya and Hridoy. However, Hridoy, at the non-striker's end, had to depart after Soumya had thumped a Josh Clarkson delivery straight only for the bowler to get some touch on the ball that went on to hit the stumps at the bowler's end. Hridoy, who was out of his crease, was caught by surprise as he had to return after a 16-ball 12.   

However, since then, Bangladesh batters have dominated proceedings – barring a few close calls for Soumya, who hit his first ODI fifty in over four years. The left-handed batter was dropped on 51 by Rachin Ravindra in the cover region off the bowling of Clarkson in the 21st over and also survived a scare on 58 when he top-edged an Adithya Ashok delivery in the 25th over only to see it elude the hands of a diving Adam Milne inside the inner circle. 
    
Despite the handful of close shaves, Soumya has barely changed his aggressive approach as he put away almost all the bad deliveries. With the long off not in place, Soumya did not hesitate to charge and put leggie Ashok for a boundary with a lofted shot over mid-off. He smashed the bowler through cover for another boundary the same over. 

Mushfiqur, who has already brought in effect his sweeps and reverse sweeps, played smoothly from the other end. The duo of Soumya and Mushfiqur has seen their partnership reach 70 off just 79 deliveries. 

Bangladesh moved to 150 for four after 30 overs. 
 

Liton, Shanto, Bijoy depart early but Soumya gets promising start  

Bangladesh are left in a spot of bother as the Tigers lost three early wickets in their second of the three-match ODI series against hosts New Zealand at Saxton Oval in Nelson today. 

The Tigers have lost skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto and Liton Das soon after opener Anamul Haque Bijoy departed after wobbling to two off 12 deliveries. However, one good sign for Bangladesh has been that Soumya Sarkar, who has received a lot of stick in recent times for not being able to justify his return to the national side, looked to be getting back into rhythm after an initial period of shakiness. 

Shanto got a leading edge off a Jacob Duffy delivery that seemed to have surprised the left-handed batter with some extra bounce in the eighth over. It provided a simple catch to Henry Nicholls at cover as Bangladesh were reduced to two for 36 after 7.2 overs.

Duffy picked up another crucial wicket in his very next over when he had Liton throw his bat at a wide delivery only to be grabbed by Will Young at the cover-point region. Liton had just pulled Duffy for a boundary the previous delivery but could not resist to go for another one, falling cheaply after just six for 11.

Meanwhile, Soumya survived a nervy initial phase to hit six boundaries on way to making 28 off 26 deliveries so far. The left-handed batter welcomed William O'Rourke, playing only his second ODI, into the attack with three boundaries in the seventh over. With Bangladesh losing wickets at regular intervals, the Tigers would desperately hope for Soumya to convert his start into something meaningful today. 

Bangladesh moved to 44 for three after the end of the first Powerplay.     

Bangladesh lose Bijoy early

Bangladesh's top-order struggles continued as the Tigers lost opener Anamul Haque Bijoy early in the second of the three-match ODI series against hosts New Zealand at Saxton Oval in Nelson today. 

With the Kiwi pacers getting just about enough swing and sufficient carry from the surface, Bangladesh have found it difficult to get going. Bijoy, who was the side's top scorer in their 44-run defeat in the first game, could not make his presence felt today as he fell after scoring just two off 12 deliveries. 

Bijoy, who seemingly struggled to make proper connections from the beginning, edged an outswinging Adam Milne delivery to be caught at slip in the fifth over. 

Bangladesh moved to 24 for one after six overs.    

Rishad handed debut as Tigers bat in second ODI against Kiwis

New Zealand have won the toss and elected to bowl in their second of the three-match ODI series against Bangladesh at Saxton Oval in Nelson today. 

For today's game, Bangladesh have made two changes to the eleven that featured in the 44-run defeat (via DLS) in the first ODI in Dunedin. Legspinner Rishad Hossain has been handed an ODI debut while young pacer Tanzim Hasan Sakib also makes it back into the side. Rishad has played three T20Is. 

Afif Hossain and left-arm pacer Mustafizur Rahman, who was last night picked by Chennai Super Kings in the IPL 2024 auction for a base price of INR 2 crore, have been dropped. 

New Zealand have also made a change in their playing eleven. In a like-for-like replacement, young 21-year-old leggie Adithya Ashok, making his ODI debut, replaces Ish Sodhi.  

Having returned to the only venue where the Tigers tasted victory in ODIs, the Najmul Hossain Shanto-led Bangladesh will hope to produce a better showing than they did in the first game. A win for the Tigers today will not only snap their 17-match losing streak against the Kiwis in New Zealand but also see them stay alive in the ongoing series.

Bangladesh played three ODIs in Nelson, with their only win coming seven years back during a six-wicket win over Scotland in a 2015 World Cup game. The Tigers suffered convincing defeats in the two ODIs they played against the hosts in Nelson in 2016.

Playing XIs:

Bangladesh: Liton Das, Anamul Haque, Najmul Hossain Shanto(c), Soumya Sarkar, Towhid Hridoy, Mushfiqur Rahim(w), Rishad Hossain, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Shoriful Islam, Hasan Mahmud

New Zealand: Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Henry Nicholls, Tom Latham(c), Tom Blundell(w), Mark Chapman, Josh Clarkson, Adam Milne, Adithya Ashok, Jacob Duffy, William ORourke