NZ v BAN, 2nd ODI Review: Neil Broom century ensures that Kiwis complete series win

Neil Broom smashed an impressive century and also managed to remain unbeaten as New Zealand went on to clinch a win in the ODI series apart from the 67-run win. While Bangladesh boasted of a 100 percent record at Nelson, it was cut short to 50 percent following the thumping they received at the hands of the Kiwis on the day.

Things began well for the Bangladeshis as they won the toss and opted to field first. Their bowling and fielding also began well as Mashrafe Mortaza trapped the unassuming Martin Guptill leg before. This was also a big bonus as far as Bangladesh was concerned as Guptill is someone who can certainly steal the game away from the opposition.

With some tight bowling in the powerplay, the result was the eventual wicket of skipper Kane Williamson who seemingly could not get bat to ball. Four deliveries after the completion of the powerplay ensured that the New Zealand skipper was headed back into the haven of the dressing room as well.

The Bangladeshis clearly had their tails up and were gunning for gold. What came next was a clear silver lining for what has been months of preparation for Chandika Haturusingha and the rest of his merry men. Tom Latham’s dismissal, a surgical strike of sorts when it came to the way Shakib-al-Hasan set him up was brilliant, to say the least.

While there were significant contributions from the likes of James Neesham and Luke Ronchi, Neil Broom took the bull by the horns with some impeccable performances with the bat. He initially began with a slow and calculated effort before impressing and making it big towards the finish line. He remained unbeaten on 109 as the Kiwis were eventually bowled out for 251 at the close of the innings.

While the Bangladeshis were certainly pleased after having restricted the Kiwis to a below-par score on a decent batting surface, they would have been even more pleased with some tremendous batting in the first few overs of their innings. While it was Tamim Iqbal who was finding it rather difficult to play his shots against the likes of Lockie Ferguson and Trent Boult, Imrul Kayes was having a field day.

Although they lost Tamim in the eighth over to a peach of a delivery from Tim Southee, it was Sabbir Rahman who joined forces with Tamim to become a rock for the visitors. At 105/1, it was clear that things were going to swing the way of Bangladesh and that they would indeed go on to secure a win, only for a collapse to prevail.

The depletion of the squad was showing strains on the batsmen who were simply not able to cope with the pressures. Moreover, it was a trick that skipper Kane Williamson realized. While the pacers had been operating, for the most part, it was clear that spin was going to be the next best option given the manner in which the Bangladeshi batsmen were taking advantage of the likes of Lockie Ferguson and Tim Southee.

Bringing himself into the attack, Williamson began to make the ball do the talking. He dismissed Shakib-al-Hasan, Mossadek Hossain, and Tanbir Hayder in quick succession as the pendulum swung back in the favor of the Kiwis. A brief resistance by debutant Nurul Hasan and skipper Mashrafe Mortaza ensured that the visitors were still in the hunt. However, the bridge seemed to be a bit too far as the Kiwis secured the win and the series as well.

Neil Broom was named the man of the match by virtue of his impressive and unbeaten century.

Brief Scores:

New Zealand: 251 all out in 50 overs (N Broom 109*; M Mortaza 3/49)

Bangladesh: 184 all out in 42.2 overs (I Kayes 59; K Williamson 3/22)

Man of the match: Neil Broom