Latham ton, Bangladesh blunders hand Black Caps ODI series win
New Zealand’s Tom Latham (right) celebrates after scoring his century against Bangladesh during their second ODI match in Christchurch on Tuesday. Agence France-Presse
Black Caps skipper Tom Latham scored an unbeaten 110 after being dropped twice with New Zealand chasing 272 at Christchurch’s Hagley Oval.
New Zealand batsman Jimmy Neesham was also given a life, with the errors undoing Bangladesh’s good work in making 271 for six after losing the toss and being put into bat.
Bangladesh captain Tamim Iqbal was left frustrated after seeing his side come close to a maiden victory on New Zealand soil.
“We should have won this game. We created chances but we just couldn’t hold on to those dropped catches,” he said.
“We hardly ever win games but in this kind of situation we have to make sure that we do everything 100 percent. I’m disappointed.”
Tamim top-scored for the tourists with 78 and Mohammad Mithun contributed an unbeaten 73 off 57 balls.
Latham’s 110 came off 108 balls and was his fifth ODI century, while Devon Conway’s 72 helped anchor the innings.
The Black Caps reached the target after 48.2 overs, finishing on 275 for five to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match ODI series.
After opener Liton Das departed for a duck in the second over, Tamim and Soumya Sarkar ground out an 81-run partnership to lay the foundation for a big finish.
Soumya was stumped on 32 trying to lift the run rate, and Tamim after bringing up his 50th ODI half-century off 84 balls after surviving two umpiring reviews, was run out trying to pinch a quick single.
Entering the final 10 overs at 183 for three, Bangladesh finally stepped on the gas through Mithun’s career-best ODI knock.
New Zealand began briskly but lost Martin Guptill for 20. Mahedi Hasan applied the brakes with two scalps, forcing Conway and Latham to rebuild.
Conway’s wicket with New Zealand at 166 for four gave Bangladesh a chance, but errors in the field saw momentum shift back to New Zealand.
Brief scores: Bangladesh 271/6 in 50 overs (Tamim Iqbal 78, Mohammad Mithun 73 not out; Mitchell Santner 2/51) lost to New Zealand 275/5 in 48.2 overs (Tom Latham 110 not out, Devon Conway 72; Mahedi Hasan 2/42) by five wickets with 10 balls remaining
