Nahid Rana takes five wickets as Bangladesh beats New Zealand to level ODI series

Bangladesh reached the target of 199-4 with 14.3 overs to spare. Opener Tanzid Hasan struck a fluent 58-ball 76 and Najmul Hossain Shanto made a patient 50 and immediately retired hurt with cramps in the heat.

Captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz replaced Shanto and said afterward the batter should be available to play the series decider on Thursday in Chattogram.

New Zealand captain Tom Latham opted to bat first but his side struggled to deal with Nahid’s express pace on a sluggish pitch.

Opener Nick Kelly hit 83 off 102 balls, including 14 fours to register his maiden fifty in his fifth ODI. However, Kelly received little support from the rest of the batting lineup. No other batter crossed 20.

The ball frequently kept low, making stroke play difficult. Nahid took 1-65 in the first ODI but was in a groove early. He got Henry Nicholls lbw with a ball clocked at 144.7 kph, and dismissed Will Young in his next over.

Latham edged one behind to give Soumya Sarkar his only wicket after returning in place of Afif Hossain, and New Zealand was 52-3 in the 18th over.

Despite Kelly’s resistance, Nahid ripped out middle-order batters Muhammad Abbas and Dean Foxcroft.

“In the previous match I gave away 65 runs. The execution was not perfect,” Nahid said. “Today, I focused on execution and it worked."

Nahid was well supported by Shoriful Islam with 2-32, Richard Hossain and Taskin Ahmed.

“Nahid bowls with good pace and the wicket suited him," Kelly said. "There was a bit more grass, and he got some swing at mid-to-high 140s.

“He attacked the stumps more, got swing, and used the extra bounce well. An example is Will Young’s wicket — good pace and bounce. Maintaining 145-plus speeds in that heat was very impressive.”

New Zealand's chase began with a glimmer of hope when Bangladesh was 21-2 in the fourth over.

But Tanzid and Shanto shattered that hope, adding 120 runs for the third wicket.

Bangladesh was almost home at 141-2 in the 23rd over when left-arm spinner Jayden Lennox removed in quick order Tanzid and Litton Das, who was playing his 100th ODI.

Muscle cramps forced Shanto to retire just after he reached his 12th fifty, his first since February 2025, but Bangladesh already had complete control of the game.

AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket