Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Series win against Bangladesh gives New Zealand World Cup boost

The Kiwis, who lost the previous two series in Bangladesh 4-0 in 2010 and 3-0 in 2013, won the second match by 86 runs last Saturday

Series win against Bangladesh gives New Zealand World Cup boost

NEW ZEALAND gave themselves the perfect preparation ahead of the World Cup by whitewashing Bangladesh in the three-match series 2-0, with a seven-wicket win in the final ODI in Dhaka on Tuesday (26).

Will Young and Adam Milne starred with bat and ball respectively, with Young hitting 70 off 80 balls to guide New Zealand to 175-3.


Milne’s 4-34 restricted the hosts to 171 in 34.3 overs at Dhaka’s Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium. Stand-in skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto, with 76 runs, was the top scorer for Bangladesh, but was unable to give the hosts a competitive target with a lack of support from the other end after he opted to bat first.

New Zealand made light of their chase despite losing Finn Allen (28) and Dean Foxcroft (0) to Shoriful Islam in consecutive balls, as Young put on 81 runs with in-form Henry Nicholls for the third wicket.

By the time left-arm spinner Nasum Ahmed bowled Young, New Zealand were well in control. Nicholls, who made 44 and 49 runs in the previous two games, went on to complete 50 this time, while Tom Blundell (23 not out) hit a boundary to take New Zealand home, with 91 balls to spare.

Bowlers Cole McConchie and Trent Boult earlier complemented Milne, who was playing his first match of the series, claiming 2-18 and 2-33 respectively to deny Bangladesh any serious momentum in the contest.

The Kiwis, who lost the previous two series in Bangladesh 4-0 in 2010 and 3-0 in 2013, won the second match by 86 runs last Saturday (23). The first match was washed out by rain.

“The World Cup is just around the corner – to come up with the first win since 2008 is great,” said Young, the man of the match, after the match.

“This group plays a lot together, we gel well and it’s a lot of fun,” he added.

Young said that while he could not predict what conditions the Kiwis would face in India when the World Cup gets underway next Thursday (5), he hoped “it’s similar to these”.

Bangladesh initially rested several key players but, with the series at stake, they brought back stalwarts Najmul, Mushfiqur Rahim and Shoriful Islam. However, it did little to improve their overall performance.

Najmul, leading Bangladesh for the first time, held down one end to score his fifth ODI fifty but wickets kept falling regularly from the other end.

“Our batsmen didn’t score big runs,” Najmul said. “Hopefully, next time batters take responsibility and bat long.”

Milne and Boult struck early to reduce Bangladesh to 35-3, before Najmul and Mushfiqur offered a brief resistance with a 53-run partnership off 59 balls in their fourth wicket stand.

But Mushfiqur’s dismissal to Lockie Ferguson for 18 put New Zealand back on top and the visitors did not lose the momentum again.

McConchie ended any real chance of Bangladesh lodging a fighting score by dismissing Najmul with his second ball of the day, with the lefthander hitting 10 fours in his 84-ball innings.

More For You

Neeraj Chopra and Arshad Nadeem

A day before the attack, Chopra had announced that top javelin throwers, including Paris Olympics champion Nadeem, had been invited to the event on May 24.

Neeraj Chopra rules out Arshad Nadeem’s presence at Bengaluru event

INDIA’s Olympic gold medallist Neeraj Chopra has said that Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem will not be attending the Neeraj Chopra Classic in Bengaluru next month. His comments came after the terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir that killed 26 tourists.

Chopra said the possibility of Nadeem’s presence was “completely out of the question” following the attack, which took place on Tuesday.

Keep ReadingShow less
hazlewood-getty

Player-of-the-match Hazlewood said that he 'was just sticking to my strengths'. (Photo; Getty Images)

Hazlewood takes four as Bengaluru beat Rajasthan by 11 runs in IPL

JOSH HAZLEWOOD took 4 for 33 as Royal Challengers Bengaluru defeated Rajasthan Royals by 11 runs in their IPL match on Thursday. Rajasthan had won the toss and chose to field first.

Chasing a target of 206, Rajasthan were in a strong position before Hazlewood dismissed Dhruv Jurel in the 19th over. Jurel had scored 47 off 34 balls. He was out with 17 runs needed off 9 balls.

Keep ReadingShow less
trent-boult-getty

Boult, who retired from international cricket in 2024, was named player of the match for his early breakthroughs. (Photo: Getty Images)

Getty Images

Rohit, Boult help Mumbai climb to third in IPL table

ROHIT SHARMA scored 76 and Trent Boult took 4 for 26 as Mumbai Indians defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad by seven wickets on Wednesday to move up to third in the IPL standings.

Boult and Deepak Chahar broke through the Hyderabad top order, reducing them to 35 for 5 before they ended on 143 for 8. Mumbai chased down the target with 26 balls remaining for their fourth straight win.

Keep ReadingShow less
Bumrah and Mandhana are Wisden’s cricketers of the year

Jasprit Bumrah (L) was named as the leading men’s cricketer in the world in the 2025 edition of the Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack, with his compatriot Smriti Mandhana picking up the women’s award

Bumrah and Mandhana are Wisden’s cricketers of the year

INDIA paceman Jasprit Bumrah was named as the leading men’s cricketer in the world in the 2025 edition of the Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack, with his compatriot Smriti Mandhana picking up the women’s award.

Bumrah was given the honour by the sport’s “bible” after a stunning 2024 in which he excelled in red- as well as white-ball cricket.

Keep ReadingShow less
KL-Rahul-Getty

This was Rahul’s third half-century of the season, and the knock took him past 5,000 runs in the IPL. (Photo: Getty Images)

KL Rahul leads Delhi to eight-wicket win over Lucknow in IPL

KL RAHUL hit an unbeaten 57 to help Delhi Capitals beat Lucknow Super Giants by eight wickets in the IPL on Tuesday.

Delhi were chasing 160 and reached the target with 13 balls to spare. Rahul shared a 69-run partnership with Abishek Porel, who made 51, and remained not out to see his team through.

Keep ReadingShow less