ICC World Cup 2019: Match 9, Bangladesh vs New Zealand – Who Said What

After rolling over South Africa at the Kennington Oval in London, Bangladesh gave New Zealand a run for their money at the very venue. Eventually, following a roller-coaster ride, Kane Williamson’s Black Caps came out trumps by three wickets and moved to the top of the points table. The Tigers, led by Mashrafe Mortaza, didn’t have enough on the board, yet they kept themselves in the hunt until the very end.

Shakib top scores on his 200th ODI

The Black Caps won the toss and elected to field first under overcast conditions. Both teams won their first matches and didn’t make any changes to their eleven. Tamim Iqbal and Soumya Sarkar took the Tigers off to a decent start with a stand of 45 runs. Matt Henry broke the partnership, getting rid of Soumya, who was looking ominous with a run-a-ball 25. Tamim didn’t look comfortable in the middle.

The southpaw perished to a mistimed pull of Lockie Ferguson after getting 24 off 38. Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim cobbled together a stand of 50 runs, but Mushfiqur had to go after succumbing to a run-out. Shakib was playing his 200th ODI and the all-rounder made the occasion memorable with a half-century, Just when he was looking settled on 64, Colin de Grandhomme found his outside edge.

Mohammad Mithun smacked three fours to score 26 and he became Henry’s second victim. Mahmudullah and Mosaddek Hossain didn’t have the best of times in the middle and got out for 20 and 11 respectively. Mohammad Saifuddin clobbered three fours and an over-boundary to score 29 runs off 23. Henry and BBoult brushed off the tail as Bangladesh was bowled out for 244 in 49.2 overs.

Tigers go down fighting

Colin Munro and Martin Guptill played a couple of cameos of 24 and 25 respectively to kick start the Kiwis’ run-chase. Shakib Al Hasan got rid of both the batsmen. The Tigers made life a tad difficult for their opponents, but a few missed chances in the outfield cost them. Thereafter, Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor cobbled together a stand of 105 runs to take their team to a position of command.

Even as Taylor got the runs freely, captain Kane was cautious in his approach. Taylor got to his half-century off 40 balls. Mehidy Hasan Miraz separated the duo, picking up Williamson, who managed a 72-ball 40 with only one boundary. Mehidy delivered another blow as he sent back Tom Latham packing for a duck. Taylor was a key player for the Kiwis and he ended up scoring 82 off 91 with nine boundaries.

Mosaddek gave the Tigers the crucial breakthrough, getting rid of Taylor. James Neesham kept the scoreboard ticking. He perished to Mosaddek after 25. Saifuddin nipped out Colin de Grandhomme to set the cat amongst the pigeons in the Kiwis’ camp. Mohammad Saifuddin rattled Matt Henry’s woodwork to create more pressure, but Mitchell Santner hit Mustafizur Rahman for a four to end the game.

Ross Taylor, the Player of the Match, said

I was very nervous in the end. But gotta give the credit to Bangladesh and their supporters who came out in numbers. They put a lot of pressure on us and this could have gone either way. We thought 270-280 was a good score on this wicket but the bowlers kept it tight. It was nice to get over the line at the end of the day. We need to work on our running between the wickets, there were a couple of close calls there. I do enjoy batting with Kane and hopefully we run well between the wickets against Afghanistan.

Mashrafe Mortaza, the Bangladesh captain, said

It was a good wicket. We were 20-30 short with the bat and the outfield was slow. It was the same wicket that we played the last game. We lost too many wickets in the middle overs and couldn’t get any big partnership. We needed a set batsmen in the middle overs, but in the end it got tight and if you want to win matches you need to get wickets. We did it very professionally in the end. We tried hard, but that can happen and the next one is a big match and hopefully we can step up in that. We have to take one game at a time, couldn’t manage today but we will try to be at our best in the next game.

Kane Williamson, the New Zealand captain, said

Very nice to get across the line, I thought the first innings was outstanding. The fielding was brilliant throughout by both teams. We thought 250 could be a competitive score and we just needed to keep wickets in the hand. It wasn’t a clinical effort with the bat, but it was nice to get over the line. There were a few soft dismissals that we need to address. It was a great experience to have and these things happen and they go down the wire.

It was nice to hold on as momentum shifts tend to happen in tournament cricket. I thought all the guys adopted to their role very well. We were expecting a lot more pace but it was on the slower side. Both teams had a similar kind of a approach today. It was one of those surfaces that produces great cricket. The guys on the sidelines who have a couple of niggles are improving, while the guys on the park are doing their job as well.