Bangladesh ‘A’ team thrashed their New Zealand counterparts by seven wickets in their first of the three-match one-day series at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium on Monday.
Strong bowling spearheaded by pacers wreaked havoc on New Zealand batting as the visitors were dismissed for 147 in 34.3 overs after opting to bat first on a sporting track at Sylhet.
Bangladesh then made some light work in their chase as top-scorer Mahidul Islam Ankon and Nurul Hasan Sohan guided the hosts to chase down the target (149-3) in 27.2 overs.
After the match, captain Nurul commended the bowlers for their execution of the game plan but emphasised the importance of the collective effort from the entire team.
‘I always say that the bowling unit makes things easier for us. But overall, if you look at bowling, fielding, and batting, I believe we all performed well as a team since we won by seven wickets. The mistakes we made today should help us improve in the next match. We will aim to play as a cohesive unit,’ said Nurul.
Earlier, New Zealand’s top order faltered against pacers Khaled Ahmed (3-27) and Shoriful Islam (2-27) as they reduced them to 13-4, with Khaled striking twice in the third over.
Ebadot Hossain, who returned after a long lay-off due to injury, and spinner Tanvir Islam, then kept the visitors under pressure by taking wickets at regular intervals.
Tanvir dismissed opener Raius Mariu (42 runs off 51 balls), who showed some resistance at the top but eventually was stumped by Nurul to make it 58-6. Tanvir picked up two more to finish with a figure of 3-45.
Ebadot (2-35) took two crucial wickets of Josh Clarkson (7) and Dean Foxcroft, the highest scorer for New Zealand with 72 off 64 deliveries, including six fours and four sixes.
In response, Bangladesh lost their openers early, with Naim Sheikh (18 off 20) and Parvez Hossain (24 off 12) both falling cheaply.
Then Anamul Haque and Mahidul Islam made a 55-run partnership to take the team closer to the target.
However, Anamul fell for 38 off 45 balls, while Mahidul remained unbeaten on 42 off 61 balls.
The second and third one-day games will be played at the same venue on May 7 and 9, respectively.