BAN vs NZ: Shanto’s Century Coupled With Mustafizur’s Five-Wicket-Haul Seal ODI Series For Bangladesh

Hyderabad: Bangladesh won the three-match ODI series against New Zealand, beating the visitors by 55 runs in the third ODI played in Chattogram. Najmul Hossain Shanto amassed a hundred, and Litton Das scored a fifty to impress with the bat. Left-arm seamer Mustafizur Rahman picked a five-for and shone with the ball to power the hosts to a triumph.

Chasing a target of 266, New Zealand lost wickets at regular intervals with only two batters scoring half-centuries. Nick Kelly played a knock of 59 runs from 80 deliveries, while Dean Foxcroft played a resilient knock of 75 runs from 72 deliveries at the end of the innings. However, a lack of support from the other end failed his attempt to take the team over the finish line, and they were bundled out on 210 with five overs to go.

Mustafizur Rahman was the pick of the bowlers with five wickets, while Nahid Rana and Mehidy Hasan Miraz picked two wickets each.

Earlier in the match, Bangladesh were put in to bat first after New Zealand won the toss. They were reduced to 32/3 in quick time, but the pair of Shanto and Das stepped up in the decisive match to form a 160-run partnership for the fourth wicket. Shanto played a knock of 105 runs from 119 deliveries while the wicketkeeper-batter amassed 76 runs from 91 deliveries during his stay at the crease.

Thanks to the partnership of the duo, New Zealand managed to post a decent total of 265/8.

Will O’Rourke was the pick of the bowlers with three wickets, while Muhammad Abbas and Jayden Lennox picked two wickets each.

After winning the match, Shanto hailed Litton for his contribution in the win.

"I think they started brilliantly, they bowled in brilliant areas, but I always try to stay in the present and not look back at what happened. So I just try to execute my plan and stay in the present and play as I can. The way Litton played today was really outstanding. He held one side, and I tried to score some runs, that was the plan. It was not an easy wicket, but we tried to just make a big partnership for the team," Shanto said at the post-match presentation.

Both teams will play in a three-match T20I series from April 27 to May 2. New Zealand will aim to bounce back with a win in the T20Is while Bangladesh will look forward to continuing the winning momentum.