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- BAN vs NZ Highlights, 1st T20I: Towhid Hridoy's 27-ball 51 powers Bangladesh to a six-wicket win over New Zealand
BAN vs NZ Highlights, 1st T20I: Towhid Hridoy's 27-ball 51 powers Bangladesh to a six-wicket win over New Zealand
The start, however, was far from ideal. Bangladesh had a subdued powerplay and lost Saif Hassan early, while Tanzid Hasan struggled to time the ball. Litton Das looked promising but couldn’t capitalise on his start, leaving Bangladesh needing a strong middle-phase recovery. That came through Towhid Hridoy and Emon, who combined aggression with smart shot selection. Their partnership brought momentum back, with both batters finding boundaries consistently and unsettling the Kiwi attack.
Although Emon fell after a brisk cameo, Shamim Hossain ensured there was no let-up. Taking advantage of erratic bowling from New Zealand’s relatively inexperienced seamers, Shamim attacked from the outset and kept the required rate firmly in check. Hridoy, meanwhile, played the anchor’s role to perfection, pacing his innings beautifully en route to a match-winning fifty.
New Zealand skipper Nick Kelly felt his side had a competitive total and even sensed control midway through the chase, but admitted they failed to sustain pressure after key breakthroughs. Hridoy praised Shamim’s impact, while Litton noted that batting wasn’t straightforward due to variable bounce, making the fluent chase even more impressive.
Ben Lister to Tanzid Hasan, Fuller delivery, on middle and leg. Hasan nudges it to deep square leg for a single.
Ben Lister to Tanzid Hasan, Shorter and outside off, steep bounce on it. Hasan bottom edges his cut shot back to the keeper.
Ben Lister to Tanzid Hasan, Wide! Serves it full and down leg. Hasan looks to flick but misses.
Ben Lister to Tanzid Hasan, Into the surface, slower ball, on middle and leg. Hasan steps across to pull but misses.
Ben Lister to Tanzid Hasan, Drifts in a fuller delivery on middle and leg. Hasan clips it through mid-wicket for a couple of runs.
- Saif Hassan 17 (13)
- Tanzid Hasan 11 (11)
Matthew Fisher to Saif Hassan, SIX! Finally, Saif connects properly. Back of a length on middle. Saif Hassan pulls it over mid-wicket, flat shot for a six.
Matthew Fisher to Saif Hassan, Wide! Too full, wide outside off and swinging away. Saif Hassan slashes his blade and misses.
Matthew Fisher to Saif Hassan, Drags his length back and bowls around off. Saif Hassan comes down and smashes it to mid off.
Matthew Fisher to Saif Hassan, Matthew Fisher gives room outside off, fuller-length delivery. Saif Hassan plays with a straight bat over mid off but mistimes it for a couple.
Matthew Fisher to Tanzid Hasan, A slower length delivery on leg. Hasan turns it to mid-wicket for one more. It is given as a leg bye.
Matthew Fisher to Tanzid Hasan, Angles in a length ball on the pads. Hasan clips it through mid-wicket for a couple of runs.
Matthew Fisher to Tanzid Hasan, Overpitched, around off. Hasan gets underneath and crunches it through cover for a brace.
- Saif Hassan 9 (10)
- Tanzid Hasan 7 (8)
Ben Lister to Saif Hassan, On a nagging length and around off. Saif Hassan uses the angle and guides it to backward point.
Ben Lister to Tanzid Hasan, Fractionally short, around off. Hasan whips it across to square leg for a run.
Ben Lister to Tanzid Hasan, A good length delivery, around off. Hasan solidly defends it out.
Ben Lister to Tanzid Hasan, Short in length, around off. Hasan pulls it to square leg.
Ben Lister to Tanzid Hasan, Back of a length, around off. Hasan pulls it flat and hard past mid-wicket for a couple of runs.
Ben Lister to Tanzid Hasan, Ripped! Into the surface, hard length and comes in with an angle. Hasan uses his feet to clip it away but gets beaten comprehensively.
- Saif Hassan 9 (9)
- Tanzid Hasan 4 (3)
Matthew Fisher to Saif Hassan, A huge appeal for LBW, turned down. Serves it full and angling around off. Saif Hassan gets his front foot across to flick but misses and gets hit on the pads. Maybe the impact was outside.
Matthew Fisher to Saif Hassan, Pushes it full and around off. Saif tucks it to mid on.
Matthew Fisher to Saif Hassan, FOUR! Carved away! Matthew Fisher bangs it into the surface, outside off. Saif Hassan cuts it aerially and over point for a boundary.
Matthew Fisher to Saif Hassan, Length ball, outside off. Saif Hassan slaps it straight to point.
Matthew Fisher to Saif Hassan, Back of a length delivery on leg at 139.7 clicks. Saif Hassan looks to flick it but misses.
Matthew Fisher to Saif Hassan, Starts with a length ball, outside off, stays a bit low. Saif Hassan slashes his blade and misses.
Matthew Fisher to bowl from the other end.
- Tanzid Hasan 4 (3)
- Saif Hassan 5 (3)
Nathan Smith to Tanzid Hasan, FOUR! A chance up front but Ish Sodhi puts it down. Overpitches it up, shaping back in very late. Hasan tries to work with the angle across but top edges it to third man. Ish Sodhi runs to his left but puts it down. A boundary.
Nathan Smith to Tanzid Hasan, Gives a bit of room on the off side, fuller length. Hasan punches it to cover.
Nathan Smith to Tanzid Hasan, Pushes it full and on middle and leg, shaping in. Hasan looks to flick but mistimes it to mid-wicket.
Nathan Smith to Saif Hassan, Bashes it short and outside off, extra bounce on it. Saif Hassan drops it wide of gully for a single.
Nathan Smith to Saif Hassan, Wide! Angles in a length ball, down leg. Saif Hassan fails to clip it again.
Nathan Smith to Saif Hassan, Wide! Slides it full and down the leg side. Saif Hassan looks to flick but misses.
Nathan Smith to Saif Hassan, FOUR! Beautiful shot! Pitches it up on middle and leg. Saif Hassan creates room on the leg side and lofts it over point for a boundary. Bangladesh are underway.
Nathan Smith to Saif Hassan, Nathan Smith begins with a good length delivery on middle. Saif Hassan clips it to mid-wicket.
Welcome back. The New Zealand players are out in the middle. Nathan Smith to bowl first. Saif Hassan and Tanzid Hasan to open for Bangladesh.
... The Run Chase ...
Clarkson’s cameo ensures a strong total - With New Zealand in danger of stalling completely, Josh Clarkson provided a much-needed late flourish. His unbeaten 27-run cameo helped push the total past the 180-mark, ensuring the Kiwis have something substantial to defend. Bangladesh’s bowlers recovered well after the Clarke-Cleaver stand ended, with Rishad Hossain picking up two and almost every other bowler picking up a wicket, including an excellent final over from Ripon Mondol that conceded just six runs.
Bangladesh bounce back - The tide turned when Rishad Hossain and Mahedi Hasan were introduced, as they successfully applied a spin-choke in the middle overs. The duo strangled the run rate and triggered a mini-collapse, with Rishad claiming two crucial wickets. Stand-in captain Nick Kelly tried to anchor the innings from one end, but wickets continued to tumble around him as the hosts clawed their way back into the contest.
Clarke and Cleaver’s charge - The innings began with high drama as Tim Robinson was run out for a diamond duck without facing a single delivery, thanks to a sharp direct hit. However, any early nerves were quickly dispelled by a sensational partnership between Katene Clarke and Dane Cleaver. Both batters notched aggressive half-centuries, putting Bangladesh under immense pressure and setting a platform for a massive score.
New Zealand Post Competitive 182 - New Zealand have finished their 20 overs with 182/6 on the board, but the visitors might feel they left some runs out on the field. After a blistering start that saw them eyeing a total well beyond 200, the Black Caps lost momentum during the middle phase and will likely feel they are 15-20 runs short of where they should have been at the break.
- Josh Clarkson 27 (14)
- Nathan Smith 2 (4)
Ripon Mondol to Josh Clarkson, On a length, around middle and leg, Josh Clarkson slogs this off the inside of his bat. The ball goes to the left of deep square leg and the batters run two. New Zealand have posted 182 for 6 after 20 overs.
Ripon Mondol to Nathan Smith, Low full toss, on middle and off, Nathan Smith chips this in front of Rishad at long off. Rishad run in well from the fence, goes for a catch but the ball pops out of his grasp as he hits the floor. Single taken.
Ripon Mondol to Josh Clarkson, Another yorker, around middle and off, Josh Clarkson goes down on a knee and flicks this straight to deep square leg for one.
Ripon Mondol to Nathan Smith, LEG BYE! Excellent yorker, a toe-crusher around middle and leg, going down the leg. Nathan Smith goes for a flick but misses and gets hit on the pads. SMith falls over but takes a leg bye at the end.
Ripon Mondol to Josh Clarkson, Yorker on middle and off, Josh Clarkson flicks this through mid-wicket and takes a run.
Ripon Mondol to Josh Clarkson, This was right in the slot, around off, Josh Clarkson swings hard at it but fails to connect.
- Josh Clarkson 23 (10)
- Nathan Smith 1 (2)
Tanzim Hasan Sakib to Josh Clarkson, Good length, around off, Josh Clarkson pushes this down to long off for a single.
Tanzim Hasan Sakib to Josh Clarkson, Yorker, on off, Josh Clarkson works this through mid-wicket and takes a brace here. Excellent running by these two batters.
Tanzim Hasan Sakib to Josh Clarkson, WIDE! Bumper, a bit too high for the umpire's liking. Wided.
Tanzim Hasan Sakib to Josh Clarkson, Back of the hand, slower one, around middle and off, Josh Clarkson swings hard but gets it away off the inside edge towards long leg for a couple of runs.
Tanzim Hasan Sakib to Josh Clarkson, SIX! Tanzim looks for the yorker and goes a bit wrong. Josh Clarkson converts it into a full toss and slogs this out of the park over the fence towards the deep mid-wicket region for a biggie.
The chase began cautiously, with Bangladesh managing a quiet powerplay and losing Saif Hassan early. Tanzid Hasan struggled to find rhythm, while Litton Das showed flashes of intent with a few boundaries but failed to convert his start. However, the game turned with the arrival of Towhid Hridoy and Emon, who stitched together a fluent partnership. Their aggressive strokeplay, marked by regular boundaries, shifted the pressure back on New Zealand. Emon’s quickfire cameo ended against the run of play, but he had already laid a solid platform.
Shamim Hossain then carried forward the momentum with an attacking approach, exposing the inexperience of the Kiwi seamers, who faltered under pressure. Hridoy remained composed throughout, anchoring the chase with a superb half-century and guiding Bangladesh home comfortably.
New Zealand captain Nick Kelly admitted that 180 felt competitive but conceded that his side lost control after the 10th over. Hridoy, named Player of the Match, credited his partners, while Litton highlighted the difficulty of batting on a two-paced wicket.
Match Statistics
Venue
Bir Shrestho Flight Lieutenant Matiur Rahman Cricket Stadium, Chattogram
