Mount Maunganui, Dec 31: Mitchell Santner and Jimmy Neesham combined in a 46-run partnership which steered New Zealand to a 17 run win over Bangladesh under the Duckworth-Lewis system in the third Twenty20 international on Sunday, dashing the Tigers’ hopes of their first series win in New Zealand.
Captain Santner and Neesham provided the cool heads New Zealand needed to overcome another top-order collapse and chase down Bangladesh’s inadequate total of only 110 in a race against encroaching dark clouds and rain.
New Zealand was in desperate trouble at 49-5 in the ninth over, trailing under the Duckworth-Lewis system when Neesham and Santner came together. They stayed together and guided New Zealand to 95-5 in the 15th over when the forecast rain arrived torrentially and brought the match to an abrupt end.
“I think we always knew there was going to be a bit of rain around whether it came at the end of halfway through that second innings,” Santner said. “The bowlers did the job up front and it was good to get across the line in a pretty hard-fought series.” In extraordinary scenes, spectators dashed for the exits of Bay Oval as the rain pelted down, driven by strong winds. New Zealand needed 78 runs to be ahead on the Duckworth-Lewis calculation.
Sunday’s win leveled the three-match series at 1-1 after Bangladesh won the first match by five wickets and after the second match at Bay Oval was washed out after 11 overs.
But New Zealand can no longer turn a blind eye to the failings of its top order in the ongoing absence of Kane Williamson and Devon Conway. Bangladesh may have lost the three-match one-day international series and shared the T20 series, but it achieved its first wins in New Zealand in both formats.
In the third ODI, New Zealand was reduced to 70-6 and in the first T20 it was 50-5 as its top batters failed to master the Bangladesh (AP)
