Scoring 246 runs was not an exceptionally challenging target; it could be considered somewhat uncertain. However, New Zealand comfortably won the match. Rachin Ravindra, who had been performing well, faced his first failure. Nevertheless, with Kane Williamson’s return, New Zealand celebrated his neat half-century.
Williamson’s calm and composed approach contrasted with the intense nature of the game. He didn’t allow the pressure of a World Cup chase to affect him and maintained control, especially when Daryl Mitchell joined him at the crease.
Mitchell appeared flawless right from the moment he hit the first ball for a six, showing his aggressive intent and batting skill.
On the other hand, Bangladesh suffered their second defeat, having previously been beaten by England. New Zealand, too, easily outclassed them. It’s worth noting that this was their sixth loss to New Zealand in as many World Cup encounters. Lockie Ferguson was declared player of the match
Earlier, New Zealand won the toss and opted to bowl first at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai.
New Zealand put on an outstanding bowling display on a pitch quite different from the one used in the India-Australia match. They started strongly, taking a wicket on the very first ball as Litton Das was caught at deep backward square leg. Tanzid Hasan and Mehidy tried to rebuild the innings, but Lockie Ferguson, who bowled with impressive speed and aggression, dismissed both of them.
However, it was Mitchell Santner who stood out with his variations in pace, line, length, and trajectory, finishing with figures of 1/31.
The experienced pair of Shakib and Rahim stepped in to rescue Bangladesh with a solid 96-run partnership, where Rahim played the more aggressive role. Shakib had some difficulties against the spinners, struggling to rotate the strike and dealing with heat and cramps towards the end of his innings.
Matt Henry delivered a crucial blow by getting Rahim out with a slower ball off-cutter, and from there, Bangladesh found it hard to maintain any momentum. Mahmudullah did his best, but he frequently found the fielders, and a total of 245 runs on this pitch was far from competitive. Skipper Kane Williamson took advantage of this by setting aggressive fields even during the death overs. The pitch seems to be more batsman-friendly this time around. However, in the second innings of the last game, there was a significant amount of dew, and Bangladesh is hoping that this won’t be the case today. They are optimistic that the absence of dew will allow their spin bowlers to have a more significant impact on the game.
