NZ vs Ban, 2nd ODI: Hosts ride Latham's ton to register 5-wicket win; take unassailable 2-0 lead
Mar 23, 2021
Christchurch [New Zealand], March 23 : Skipper Tom Latham scored a brilliant century to guide New Zealand to a five-wicket win over Bangladesh in the second ODI here on Tuesday. With this win, the hosts have taken an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
Latham played an unbeaten knock of 110 runs to help New Zealand chase down the target of 272 runs. Devon Conway also scored 72 runs in the match.
Chasing the target, New Zealand witnessed a steady start as opener Henry Nicholls and Martin Guptill scored regular boundaries. Mustafizur Rahman provided Bangladesh with the first breakthrough when he caught and bowled Guptill (20). Soon after that, Mahedi Hasan sent Nicholls (13) back to the pavilion.
The fall of wickets did not stop as Hasan then removed Will Young (1). Devon Conway and Tom Latham then took over and revived New Zealand's innings. Both took their side past the 150-run mark, with Conway completing his half-century.
New Zealand's chase was hampered after Conway (72) got run out in the 34th over. James Neesham then joined Latham, who also went on to score his fifty. After the completion of 38 overs, New Zealand's score read 200/4, with the hosts still needing 72 runs to win from the remaining 12 overs.
Neesham and Latham's 73-run partnership came to an end after Rahman dismissed the former. However, it proved to be a bit late for Bangladesh to make a comeback in the game as Latham, who completed his century, took his team over the line in the 49th over.
After being asked to bat first, Bangladesh got off to a poor start with Liton Das being dismissed for a duck by Matt Henry in just the second over of the innings. Opener Tamim Iqbal was then joined by Soumya Sarkar on the field.
Both provided their side with a good start after an early blow and took the team over the 50-run mark in the 15th over. Mitchell Santner broke the partnership in the 21st over, removing Sarkar (32). Mushfiqur Rahim then came out in the middle but Bangladesh suffered a major blow after Iqbal (78) got run out, bringing Mohammad Mithun to the field.
Santner then picked his second wicket of the day when he dismissed Rahim (34). While Bangladesh kept losing wickets, Mithun continued to play brilliantly and helped his side post a respectable total of 271 with the help of his unbeaten 73-run knock.
Brief Scores: Bangladesh 271/6 (Tamim Iqbal 78, Mohammad Mithun 73*; Mitchell Santner 2/51); New Zealand 275/5 (Tom Latham 110*, Devon Conway 72; Mahedi Hasan 2/42).
