New Zealand stand-in captain was too hot to handle for the visitors at the moment as he carried kiwis to a comfortable 5-wicket victory in the second ODI of the 3-match series. Despite not getting a chance to bat in the first match of the series, Latham seems to be in sublime touch with the bat even with the burden of captaincy on his shoulders! It was a neat performance from the hosts as they have taken an unassailable lead of 2-0 in the 3-match series.
After being sent into bat first, Bangladesh captain Tamim Iqbal (78 runs off 108 balls) scored a slow and steady half-century and with a couple of 30s in the top 4 helped Visitors get off to a good start. Once Tamim departed, Mohammad Mithun took matters into his own hands and carried Bangladesh to a respectable 271/6 in 50 overs. In the process, he remained unbeaten on 73* off 57 deliveries with 6 fours and 2 sixes. Among Kiwis bowlers, Mitchell Santner bagged 2 wickets while Trent Boult, Matt Henry and Kyle Jamieson accounted for a wicket each.
Chasing 272 to win, New Zealand lost 3 wickets with just 53 runs on the board. Then Devon Conway (72 off 93) along with captain Tom Latham added 113 runs for the fourth wicket. Once Conway departed, Latham continued on his merry way taking his team to a comfortable 5-wicket victory. Latham, in the process, scored his fifth ODI century in this series-winning victory.
Tom Latham has been adjudged as the ‘Player of the Match’ for his crucial contribution with the bat in this tricky run-chase. With this 5-wicket victory, New Zealand have taken an unassailable lead of 2-0 in the 3-match series. The third and final ODI of the series is scheduled to be played at Basin Reserve in Wellington on Friday (Mar 26).
Brief Scores: New Zealand – 275/5 in 48.2 overs (Tom Latham – 110*, Devon Conway – 72, Mahedi Hasan – 2/35, Mustafizur Rahman – 2/62) defeated Bangladesh – 271/6 in 50 overs (Tamim Iqbal – 78, Mohammad Mithun – 73, Mitchell Santner – 2/51, Kyle Jamieson – 1/36) by a margin of 5 wickets
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