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- BAN vs NZ Highlights, 1st T20I: Towhid Hridoy's 27-ball 51 powers Bangladesh to a six-wicket win over New Zealand
BAN vs NZ Highlights, 1st T20I: Towhid Hridoy's 27-ball 51 powers Bangladesh to a six-wicket win over New Zealand
The start, however, was far from ideal. Bangladesh had a subdued powerplay and lost Saif Hassan early, while Tanzid Hasan struggled to time the ball. Litton Das looked promising but couldn’t capitalise on his start, leaving Bangladesh needing a strong middle-phase recovery. That came through Towhid Hridoy and Emon, who combined aggression with smart shot selection. Their partnership brought momentum back, with both batters finding boundaries consistently and unsettling the Kiwi attack.
Although Emon fell after a brisk cameo, Shamim Hossain ensured there was no let-up. Taking advantage of erratic bowling from New Zealand’s relatively inexperienced seamers, Shamim attacked from the outset and kept the required rate firmly in check. Hridoy, meanwhile, played the anchor’s role to perfection, pacing his innings beautifully en route to a match-winning fifty.
New Zealand skipper Nick Kelly felt his side had a competitive total and even sensed control midway through the chase, but admitted they failed to sustain pressure after key breakthroughs. Hridoy praised Shamim’s impact, while Litton noted that batting wasn’t straightforward due to variable bounce, making the fluent chase even more impressive.
Tanzim Hasan Sakib to Nathan Smith, Back of the hand slower one, around middle and off, Nathan Smith pushes this down to long on and takes a single.
Tanzim Hasan Sakib to Josh Clarkson, On a length, around middle and off, Josh Clarkson flicks this through mid-wicket for one.
- Nathan Smith 0 (1)
- Josh Clarkson 11 (5)
Shoriful Islam to Nathan Smith, Yorker, around off, Nathan Smith shuffles well across the stumps and goes for a flick but misses.
Shoriful Islam to Nick Kelly, OUT! CAUGHT! Quicker one, cutter and on off. Nick Kelly looks to pull this out of the park but swings early and ends up lobbing this over Tanzim Hasan Sakib at the short fine leg region. Tanzim makes no mistake and holds onto it. Nathan Smith walks out next to bat.
Shoriful Islam to Nick Kelly, FOUR! Slower one, back of a length, around middle and leg, Nick Kelly plays this with the back of the bat and reverse hits this over the backward point fielder for a boundary.
Shoriful Islam to Nick Kelly, Slower one again, full and wide of off, Nick Kelly jams this back to the bowler.
Shoriful Islam to Nick Kelly, Slower one, full and wide of off, Nick Kelly looks for the ramps and shuffles a long way across but misses out. Kelly was way too quick to shuffle across.
Shoriful Islam to Josh Clarkson, Low full toss, around off, Josh pushes this down to long off for one.
- Josh Clarkson 10 (4)
- Nick Kelly 35 (23)
Ripon Mondol to Josh Clarkson, Back of a length, around midlde and off, Josh Clarkson pulls this towards the cow corner region for a single.
Ripon Mondol to Josh Clarkson, FOUR! As straight as an arrow. Pitched up, around off, Josh Clarkson gets right behind the line of it and plays the lofted straight drive over the bowler for a boundary in front of the sight screen.
Ripon Mondol to Nick Kelly, On a length, around off, slower one. Nick Kelly guides this to backward point for a single.
It looks like the flood lights are 100 percent operational and we are all good to continue.
Game stopped due to : Bad Light
Game stopped due to : Light Failure
HALT! The umpires gather on the adjacent track to voice concerns over the fading natural light, even though the stadium's artificial lights are already 50 percent active as per the on-air commentator. Despite the floodlights being on, the officials determine that the current visibility remains inadequate for play to continue safely. Kelly is particularly not happy with this decision as the visitors just about started to gain some timely momentum.
Ripon Mondol to Nick Kelly, Full and wide outside off, Nick Kelly jumps down the track and leaves it expecting a wide but the umpire calls it a fair one.
Ripon Mondol to Nick Kelly, SIX! Pitched up, around the pads, Nick Kelly picks it up with a flick and hits this over the fence towards the deep mid-wicket region for a biggie. Nick Kelly races to 34.
Ripon Mondol to Nick Kelly, FOUR! WOW! Full and on middle and leg, Nick Kelly doesn't move his feet much but innovates with a ramp over the fielder at short third region for a boundary. Excellent reading of the field by Kelly.
- Josh Clarkson 5 (2)
- Nick Kelly 24 (19)
Rishad Hossain to Josh Clarkson, FOUR! Quicker one, on the pads, Josh Clarkson goes down on a knee and paddle sweeps this through the left of short fine leg for a boundary.
Rishad Hossain to Nick Kelly, Tossed up, on middle and leg, Nick Kelly backs away and pushes this to forward mid on for one.
Rishad Hossain to Nick Kelly, Tossed up, on off, Nick Kelly once again plays the reverse sweep but doesn't time this well and rolls it to cover-point.
Rishad Hossain to Nick Kelly, FOUR! A boundary after a while and Kelly innovates well to score it. Flighted around leg, Nick Kelly plays the reverse sweep and hits this behind point for four runs.
Rishad Hossain to Josh Clarkson, Fuller around off, Josh Clarkson flicks this away for one.
Rishad Hossain to Nick Kelly, LEG BYE! Tossed up, around leg, Nick Kelly steps inside the line a bit and looks for the flick but gets beaten and is hit on the back pad. The ball deflects behind the stumps and the batters run a leg bye. Litton Das sends this upstairs as the umpire turns down his appeal for LBW. Two reds and an umpire's call on the impact of the ball with the stumps as it kisses the top of the bails on leg. Ball Tracking and the on-field call of Not Out, saves the day for Kelly.
Josh Clarkson is the next batter in.
- Dean Foxcroft 3 (7)
- Nick Kelly 19 (15)
Mahedi Hasan to Dean Foxcroft, OUT! TIMBER! The spin-choke from Bangladesh is for real. Mahedi continues to bowl around the stumps, darts across the batter, on off. Dean Foxcroft jumps down the track and looks to have a heave at it but misses and the ball uproots his off pole.
Mahedi Hasan to Nick Kelly, Short of a length, on middle and leg, Nick Kelly pulls this towards deep mid-wicket for one.
Mahedi Hasan to Nick Kelly, Fired into the batter, around his pads, Nick Kelly backs away and has a slog at it but gets beaten.
Mahedi Hasan to Dean Foxcroft, Fuller around middle and off, Dean Foxcroft goes down on a knee and sweeps this to deep square leg for a single.
Mahedi Hasan to Nick Kelly, Clever by the bowler. Nick Kelly was a bit too quick to jump down the deck and Mahedi Hasan cleverly dishes this way too wide of off. Kelly does well in the end to push this through covers for a single.
Mahedi Hasan to Nick Kelly, Fuller, down the leg, following the batter. Nick gets beaten and is hit on the pads.
- Dean Foxcroft 2 (5)
- Nick Kelly 17 (11)
Shoriful Islam to Dean Foxcroft, Hard length, around off, Dean Foxcroft dabs this to point.
Shoriful Islam to Nick Kelly, Good length, on middle and leg, Nick Kelly flicks this through mid-wicket for a single.
Shoriful Islam to Nick Kelly, WIDE! Full and down the leg. Nick Kelly does well to leave it and the umpire gives it a wide.
Shoriful Islam to Nick Kelly, Cutter, around off, Nick Kelly tucks this to mid-wicket for a dot.
Shoriful Islam to Nick Kelly, FOUR! Back of a length, around off, going across the batter. Nick Kelly gets up on his toes, plays this late and cuts this past the fielder at backward point for a boundary.
Shoriful Islam to Nick Kelly, Bumper, on off, Nick Kelly pulls this over mid-wicket for a couple of runs.
Shoriful Islam to Dean Foxcroft, Good length, on the pads, Dean Foxcroft gets it edged off the inside edge onto his pads for a single.
- Dean Foxcroft 1 (3)
- Nick Kelly 10 (7)
Tanzim Hasan Sakib to Dean Foxcroft, Full and around off, Dean Foxcroft pushes this to mid off for a quick single.
Tanzim Hasan Sakib to Dean Foxcroft, On a length, around off, Dean Foxcroft guides this to point for no run.
Tanzim Hasan Sakib to Dean Foxcroft, Hard length, on off, Dean Foxcroft blocks this to covers.
Dean Foxcroft walks out next in the middle.
Tanzim Hasan Sakib to Bevon Jacobs, OUT! CAUGHT! Back of a length, around off, Bevon Jacobs backs away a shade and looks to go big around the cover region. Hits this from the bottom of his bat and finds Rishad Hossain at the sweeper cover region. A disappointing outing for Bevon.
Tanzim Hasan Sakib to Nick Kelly, Sakib comes around the stumps and bowls it from wide of the crease and on a length, into the batter. Nick Kelly looks to take the mid off fielder on again but this time gets an inside edge that rolls to the fine leg region for a single.
Tanzim Hasan Sakib to Nick Kelly, FOUR! Good length, around off, Nick Kelly jumps down and away from the stumps. Lofts this intentionally over the fielder at mid off for four runs.
- Nick Kelly 5 (5)
- Bevon Jacobs 1 (1)
Rishad Hossain to Nick Kelly, Quicker one, around off, Nick Kelly drills this down to long on for a run.
Rishad Hossain to Bevon Jacobs, Tossed up, around off, Bevon Jacobs presses onto the front foot and drives this to long off to get off the mark with a single.
Bevon Jacobs is the next batter in.
Rishad Hossain to Katene Clarke, OUT! CAUGHT! Googly, around middle and leg, Katene Clarke looks to play the reverse sweep but gets cramped and hits this from the sticker of his bat to point. Tawhid Hridoy settles himself underneath it and holds onto it. Katene Clarke departs right after scoring a half-century as well.
Rishad Hossain to Katene Clarke, Top-spin, around off, Katene Clarke waits for it and pats this to point for no run.
The chase began cautiously, with Bangladesh managing a quiet powerplay and losing Saif Hassan early. Tanzid Hasan struggled to find rhythm, while Litton Das showed flashes of intent with a few boundaries but failed to convert his start. However, the game turned with the arrival of Towhid Hridoy and Emon, who stitched together a fluent partnership. Their aggressive strokeplay, marked by regular boundaries, shifted the pressure back on New Zealand. Emon’s quickfire cameo ended against the run of play, but he had already laid a solid platform.
Shamim Hossain then carried forward the momentum with an attacking approach, exposing the inexperience of the Kiwi seamers, who faltered under pressure. Hridoy remained composed throughout, anchoring the chase with a superb half-century and guiding Bangladesh home comfortably.
New Zealand captain Nick Kelly admitted that 180 felt competitive but conceded that his side lost control after the 10th over. Hridoy, named Player of the Match, credited his partners, while Litton highlighted the difficulty of batting on a two-paced wicket.
Match Statistics
Venue
Bir Shrestho Flight Lieutenant Matiur Rahman Cricket Stadium, Chattogram
