Bangladesh have taken a 2-0 lead in the five-match series with a hard-fought four-run win against New Zealand in the second T20I at the Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur, Dhaka.
Chasing a stiff 142, New Zealand needed 20 off the final six balls. Cole McConchie (15*) took three from the first ball, bowled by Mustafizur Rahman. The next three balls saw 1, 2, 1, which brought the equation to 13 in two balls.
Mustafizur then delivered a beamer to Tom Latham, the latter got an inside edge, and it went for four. Latham (65* in 49 balls), after scoring almost half of New Zealand’s total, failed to take his side past the finishing line. They needed eight from the last two balls, including a free hit, but he could only manage three.
Mahedi Hasan returned excellent figures of 4-0-12-1, while Nasum Ahmed (1-17) bowled three tight overs inside the Powerplay.
Earlier, Mohammad Naim (39) and Liton Das (33) got Bangladesh off to a decent start on a slow pitch. They added 59 in 57 balls to lay the platform before Rachin Ravindra picked up two wickets in successive balls in the tenth over.
Shakib Al Hasan, who was adjudged Player of the Match two days ago, did not last long. Afif Hossain departed cheaply as well, as Bangladesh were left reeling on 109/5 in 16.2 overs. Mahmudullah took charge from there, and added 32 with Nurul Hasan (13*) to help Bangladesh finish on 141/6.
Coming to the chase, New Zealand lost both Tom Blundell (6) and Ravindra (10) inside four overs. Latham and Will Young held the fort, stitching a 43-run third-wicket stand before Shakib (2-29) removed Young (22) in the 11th over. Latham did not find any support from there, and as a result, he fell just four runs short of the target.
Brief scores: Bangladesh 141/6 in 20 overs (Mohammad Naim 39; Rachin Ravindra 3-22) beat New Zealand 137/5 in 20 overs (Tom Latham 65*; Mahedi Hasan 2-12) by 4 runs. Player of the Match: Mahmudullah.