Southee’s six of the best
Black Caps cruise to series sweep
Tim Southee ripped through the Bangladesh top order and finished with 6-65 as the Black Caps completed an 88-run win against Bangladesh to wrap up a 3-0 series win in Dunedin yesterday.
Chasing a target of 331 to win after Ross Taylor had broken Stephen Fleming’s New Zealand ODI run record, the Black Caps were too good for a Bangladesh side that stirred briefly but was ultimately outclassed.
It was satisfactory outing for the Black Caps although Colin Munro continued to struggle with the bat and better opponents at the upcoming World Cup will reveal if New Zealand have enough bowling quality in the middle overs.
Nonetheless, Southee’s opening spell was a reminder of his own abilities and the difficulties all batsmen face when confronted by the timeless combination of height and a good length.
In just the second ball of the innings Southee tempted Tamim Iqbal into a wild slash that caught a fine edge and brought a sharp catch from Tom Latham. But better was to come.
Two balls later Southee fooled Soumya Sarkar with an absolute peach: the movement off the pitch and in the air tricked the batsman into a leave he regretted immediately as the bails went flying behind him.
Liton Das was Southee’s third victim, out lbw as the tourists found themselves in disarray at 3-2. Mushfiqur was the next to go inside the 10th over, caught in the deep by Munro off the bowling of Trent Boult.
But just when it looked like the contest could be over early, the Bangladeshi middle order fought back, with Sabbir Rahman and Mohammad Saifuddin frustrating the Black Caps with some fine attacking strokes. They advanced Bangladesh to 162-5 before Boult dismissed Saifuddin for 44.
Sabbir pushed on for a commendable century but by then the contest had long lost its sting and Bangladesh were eventually dismissed for 242 with Southee fittingly taking the last wicket to finish with figures of 6-65.
Earlier, a combustible knock from Colin de Grandhomme put an exclamation mark on a New Zealand innings that featured Taylor scoring 69 to take his career total to 8026 ODI runs, beyond Fleming’s previous mark of 8007.
However, the innings was threatening to fizzle out before the allrounder’s intervention. De Grandhomme smashed 37 from just 15 balls to lift the pace in the final few overs and set Bangladesh a target of 331.
The Bangladeshis’ body language sagged visibly after de Grandhomme’s onslaught and seemed to take the fight out of the side as they departed for lunch.
The focus now shifts to the three-test series against Bangladesh but the World Cup is fast approaching on the horizon.
NEW ZEALAND
M Guptill c Tamim b Saifuddin .............. 29 C Munro lbw b Mashrafe ............................. 8 H Nicholls c Tamim b Mahedi ................ 64 R Taylor c Mahmudullah b Rubel ........ 69 T Latham c Soumya b Mustafizur ....... 59 J Neesham b Mustafizur .......................... 37 C de Grandhomme not out .................... 37 M Santner not out ......................................... 16 Extras (3lb, 6w, 2nb) ..................................... 11 Total (for 6wkts, 50 overs) .................. 330 Fall: 21, 59, 151, 206, 271, 284. Bowling: M Mortaza 10-1-51-1, M Rahman 10-0-93-2 (3w, 1nb), R Hossain 9-0-64-1 (1nb), M Saifuddin 10-0-48-1, M Hasan 9-0-43-1 (1w), Mahmudullah 2-0-28-0 (1w).
BANGLADESH
T Iqbal c Latham b Southee ..................... 0 L Das lbw b Southee ....................................... 1 S Sarkar b Southee ........................................ 0 M Rahim c Munro b Boult ......................... 17 Mahmudullah c Munro b de Grandhomme ................................................. 16 S Rahman c & b Southee ........................ 102 M Saifuddin c Guptill b Boult ................. 44 M Mortaza c Boult b Southee ................... 2 M Hasan c Guptill b Southee .................. 37 R Hossain run out ........................................... 3 M Rahman not out ........................................ 0 Extras (2lb, 18w) ............................................ 20 Total (47.2 overs) ...................................... 242 Fall: 0, 1, 2, 40, 61, 162, 170, 237, 242, 242.
Bowling: T Southee 9.2-1-65-6 (7w), T Boult 9-1-37-2 (2w), C de Grandhomme 5-0-18-1 (2w), L Ferguson 10-0-50-0 (3w), M Santner 10-2-46-0, J Neesham 4-0-24-0.
Result: NZ won by 88 runs.
Series: NZ won three-match series 3-0.