Mr Cricket UAE

First in 4454 days: Bangladesh rout New Zealand to register ODI series win on home turf

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Najmul Hossain Shanto

Najmul Hossain Shanto (Source: BCBtigers on X)

Mr Cricket UAE Staff

Mr Cricket UAE Staff

Published - 23 Apr 2026, 05:33 PM Read time - 6 mins

New Zealand's second-string side was not enough to delay the inevitable as Bangladesh won the decider at the Bir Sreshtho Flight Lieutenant Matiur Rahman Stadium in Chattogram on Thursday (April 23) to clinch their first ODI series win over the Kiwis after 4554 days.

Former captain Najmul Hossain Shanto set up the win for the hosts as he scored a tenacious century (105 off 119), laced with nine fours and two sixes. The southpaw added 160 runs for the fourth wicket alongside wicketkeeper batter Litton Kumer Das to rescue his team from turbulent waters.

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New Zealand captain Tom Latham's decision to win the toss and field first was proven right by young seamer Will O'Rourke. O'Rourke struck with the second ball of the match to remove Saif Hassan before the hosts could even add a run on the board.

He then got rid of Tanzid Hasan with the first ball of his third over as the opener got played on. He tried to ride the bounce and fend it away, but ended up getting an inside edge, which bounced close to his feet and trickled to kiss the off stump.

Soumya Sarkar (18 off 26) was off to a positive start, but he also suffered the same fate as Tanzid, leaving Bangladesh in a spot of bother 32/3 in 8.3 overs. Litton (76 off 93) played a hard-fought knock alongside Shanto and brought Bangladesh into a position of ascendancy.

Towhid Hridoy (33* off 29) and skipper Mehidy Hasan (22 off 18) played impressive cameos at the end to help Bangladesh post a challenging total of 265 on the board.

Ben Lister (2/62) and Jayden Lennox (2/50) complemented O'Rourke really well and kept the pressure on the hosts.

In reply, the visitors couldn't sustain the relentless attack from Mustafizur Rahman, who was playing his first game of the series.

After losing Henry Nicholls early, the Kiwis stitched a 46-run stand as Nick Kelly and Will Young showed composure. However, Young and Latham got out within a space of 19 balls, and it put the team under the pump.

Kelly scored his second consecutive fifty (59 off 80), but Rahman returned to the attack and removed him in the 26th over to pulverise New Zealand's chances.

Dean Foxcroft, who had scored a match-winning fifty in the series opener, played a gutsy knock of 75 off just 72 balls, pounding seven sixes tried hard to sail against the tide but ran out of partners in the end. He tried to launch Mehidy over long-on but couldn't get the timing right as New Zealand got bundled out for 210 in 44.5 overs.

This is Bangladesh's first win over the Blackcaps since their 3-0 ODI series victory over them in November 2013.

Top run-scorer of the match

Player

Team

Runs

Balls

Fours

Sixes

Strike Rate
Najmul Hossain Shanto

Bangladesh

105

119

 9

8

 88.23

Top wicket-taker of the match

Player

Team

Overs

Maidens

Runs

Wickets

Economy
Mustafizur Rahman

Bangladesh

9

2

43

5

4.77

Player of the Match

Najmul Hossain Shanto

Najmul Hossain Shanto laid the foundation of Bangladesh's win. He played a remarkable innings under pressure after New Zealand almost had the hosts on the mat after taking three early wickets. Shanto played risk-averse shots and relied on his reading of the wicket to put Bangladesh in a position of strength.

Turning Point

Nick Kelly's wicket was the turning point. Mehidy reintroduced Mustafizur Rahman into the attack to break the partnership that was flourishing between him and Muhammad Abbas, and it paid dividends. New Zealand never looked assured in the chase from there on.

What the captains said

Winning Team Captain, Mehidy Hasan Miraz (Bangladesh)

"It was an excellent match, it wasn't easy, the boys bowled really well, Mustafizur also. Shanto and Litton's partnership was excellent, they took responsibility. They are senior guys and they played really well. (On whether he thought 265 was a winning total on this surface) We know the conditions, there was little spin on offer and some uneven bounce for the pacers. We took early wickets and that helped us. The boys knew the conditions and bowled well. We fielded really well and took a couple of really good catches, those two catches were very important."

Losing Team Captain, Tom Latham (New Zealand)

" (On what was going on in his mind when the last partnership was on) Yeah, there was some clean striking there from Foxy. You know, see a little bit too late from our point of view. If we had a few more wickets in the tank then, you know, things might have been different. But, unfortunately today, couldn't quite put the perfect performance together, and full credit to Bangladesh. (On their top-order not scoring enough runs) I think probably similar to the second game. As a batting unit, we probably weren't able to build enough partnerships at the top. And we sort of speak about it, having guys set towards the last 10 overs and, obviously, losing wickets, you know, throughout that whole sort of top 20-25 overs, sort of puts you on the back foot. And, as I said, we just weren't able to build those partnerships today. (On whether the partnership between Litton and Shanto hurt them) You're right. And I think we saw that, when we took a few wickets towards the back end, full credit to the partnership that Litton and Shanto put on. I thought they played superbly well. I think our powerplay game was fantastic. I think we managed to find a great length, and the boys did a great job. But, obviously trying to break that partnership was the key, and unfortunately, we couldn't do that. Going into the halfway mark, we were reasonably happy with 260. But, again, when you're unable to put partnerships together, it makes things difficult."

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