New Zealand beats Bangladesh in rain-hit T20 to level series
Bevon Jacobs leads New Zealand to a six-wicket victory after a shaky start in the series-deciding match
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- New Zealand defeated Bangladesh by six wickets in the third T20 match, leveling the series 1-1.
- Bevon Jacobs scored an unbeaten 62 to secure the win after a top-order collapse, while Ish Sodhi became New Zealand's leading T20I wicket-taker.
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The match was the third in a three-match T20 series between New Zealand and Bangladesh. The series was tied 1-1 following a washout in the second game and a Bangladesh win in the opener.
New Zealand bounced back from a shaky start to beat Bangladesh by six wickets in the rain-hit third T20 on Saturday and level the three-match series 1-1. The second game had earlier been washed out after Bangladesh won the opener by six wickets.
Chasing a revised target of 103 in 15 overs, New Zealand were in serious trouble early at 25-3 after Bangladesh pacer Shoriful Islam ripped through the top order. Stand-in captain Nick Kelly also fell soon after, leaving the hosts struggling at 33-4. But Bevon Jacobs turned the game around with a brilliant unbeaten 62 off just 31 balls. His knock included five fours and three sixes as he guided New Zealand to 104-4 in 11.4 overs. Bangladesh captain Litton Das kept attacking with Shoriful, but Jacobs responded aggressively and smashed him for back-to-back boundaries to shift momentum. Jacobs reached his fifty in 29 balls and finished the match in style with a boundary and a six. Shoriful still ended with impressive figures of 3-19.
Earlier, Bangladesh were asked to bat first but their innings never really settled. They had already slipped to 50-3 in 6.4 overs before rain stopped play for more than two hours, reducing the contest to 15 overs per side. After the restart, Bangladesh tried to attack every delivery, but the plan backfired badly. They lost their final seven wickets for just 39 runs in 35 balls and were bowled out for 102 in 14.2 overs. Towhid Hridoy top-scored with 33, while Litton Das made 26 and Saif Hassan added 16. No other batter could reach double figures. Josh Clarkson starred with the ball for New Zealand, taking a career-best 3-9 in two overs. Ben Sears and Nathan Smith picked up two wickets each, while Ish Sodhi claimed one wicket to become New Zealand’s leading T20I wicket-taker with 165 wickets, surpassing Tim Southee’s 164.
