Dean Foxcroft put in an all-round display while the others chipped in with valuable contributions as New Zealand held their nerves to beat Bangladesh by 26 runs. Dean Foxcroft came in at a crucial time and scored a fifty before chipping in with a wicket and an economical spell as well. Opting to bat first, Henry Nicholls and Dean Foxcroft scored impressive fifties to take the score to 247/8 in 50 overs for the Kiwis.
While defending the score, Blair Tickner and Nathan Smith stood up and picked up 4 and 3 wickets respectively as the visitors staved off half-centuries from Saif Hassan and Towhid Hridoy, with the latter being the final wicket to fall in the end. Litton Das made 46 as well, but it was not enough as young New Zealand won by 26 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the 3-match series.
Henry Nicholls’ & Dean Foxcroft’s impressive half-centuries help New Zealand post a competitive 247/8
Winning the toss and deciding to bat first, Henry Nicholls and Nick Kelly came out to bat for New Zealand while Taskin Ahmed had the ball in hand for Bangladesh. The Kiwis made a steady start after winning the toss, with Nicholls looking good out there while Kelly was struggling to time the ball. The duo put on 21 for the first wicket in 6.3 overs before Kelly was the first one to depart for 7 off 23 balls, with one four to his name to Shoriful Islam.
Will Young came out to bat next and looked assured in the middle. The duo were in need of a partnership, and they steadily put on one. The power play score after the first 10 overs was 38/1 for the Kiwis. The duo carried on beyond that as the two experienced campaigners put on an important and significant partnership to lay the base for the Kiwis. They put on 73 for the second wicket before Young fell after getting a start, as he fell for 30 off 42 balls with 2 fours to his name to Rishad Hossain. Captain and keeper batter Tom Latham came out to bat next.
Nicholls looked good out there while Latham got a start as well. The duo put on 33 for the third wicket before Latham was cleaned up by his opposite number Mehidy Hasan Miraz for 14 off 15 balls with 2 fours to his name. Muhammad Abbas came out to bat next. Just 4 runs were added to the tally before the set batter Henry Nicholls fell for 68 off 83 balls with 9 fours to his name to Rishad Hossain again to leave New Zealand in a spot of bother at 131/4 in 27.5 overs.
Dean Foxcroft came out to bat next. Abbas struggled out there in the middle while Foxcroft looked fluent and was quickly off the blocks. The Kiwis needed some sort of a partnership as Abbas and Foxcroft put on 34 runs for the 5th wicket before Abbas fell for 14 off 30 balls to Shoriful Islam. Josh Clarkson came out to bat next. Foxcroft was now doing the bulk of the scoring and added 27 runs for the 6th wicket before Clarkson fell for 8 off 16 balls as he was cleaned up by Taskin Ahmed.
Nathan Smith came out to bat next. Foxcroft soon completed his fifty and added another small but significant 34 runs for the 7th wicket before the set batter Foxcroft fell for 59 off 58 balls with 8 fours to his name to Nahid Rana, who cleaned him up. Blair Tickner came out to bat next. Smith added some useful runs in the back-end overs alongside Tickner as the duo added 14 runs for the 8th wicket before Tickner fell for 7 off 10 balls as he was cleaned up by Taskin Ahmed. Jayden Lennox came out to bat with 4 balls to go in the innings.
Lennox got himself off the mark while Smith added useful runs in the last few balls. The duo of Nathan Smith and Lennox added 7 runs in the last 4 balls as New Zealand finished with a competitive 247/8 in 50 overs. Nathan Smith remained unbeaten on 21 off 22 balls with a boundary to his name, while Lennox remained unbeaten on 1 off 2 balls. 18 extras given by the fielding side.
Bangladesh put in a decent bowling performance with the ball in hand. Shoriful Islam was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 2/27 in 10 overs. He was ably supported by Rishad Hossain, who finished with 2/44 in 10 overs. Taskin Ahmed finished with 2/50 in 10 overs. Mehidy Hasan Miraz finished with 1/54 in 10 overs, while Nahid Rana finished with 1/65 in 10 overs. So, the target for Bangladesh was 248 runs to win off 50 overs to take a 1-0 lead in the 3-match ODI series.
Blair Tickner & Nathan Smith combine to skittle Bangladesh out for 221 in 48.3 overs
Chasing 248 for the win, Saif Hassan and Tanzid Hasan came out to bat for Bangladesh while William O’Rourke had the ball in hand for New Zealand. Saif got a reprieve early on as he was dropped at first slip by Henry Nicholls when he was on 1, and the team score was 9 as Nathan Smith was the unlucky bowler. Saif made New Zealand pay for the dropped catch by scoring fluently. The duo put on 21 for the first wicket inside 4 overs before Tanzid fell for 2 off 6 balls to Nathan Smith. Najmul Hossain Shanto came out to bat next and was gone on the first ball for a golden duck as he was cleaned up by Smith. Litton Das came out to bat next and survived the hat-trick ball.
Bangladesh needed a partnership, and the duo of Saif Hassan and Litton Das provided that. Both batters batted fluently out there in the middle. Bangladesh did better than New Zealand in the power play as they were 51/1 in 10 overs. The duo continued the momentum and kept the run rate in check with both batters playing fluently. They played at a fair clip as Saif completed his half-century.
The duo added a significant 93-run stand for the third wicket before Saif finally fell for 57 off 76 balls with 8 fours and one six to his name to William O’Rourke, who broke the stand. Towhid Hridoy joined Litton Das in the middle now. Hridoy and Litton started well and looked good to go big. Hridoy took his time, but once settled in was in full flow. The duo added 18 runs for the 4th wicket before Litton missed out on his fifty. He was dismissed for 46 off 68 balls with 3 fours to his name by Dean Foxcroft. Afif Hossain came out to bat next.
Afif struggled out there in the middle but managed to hang in there while Hridoy was in full flow now after the dismissal of Das. The hosts needed a partnership, and they got one through Hridoy and Afif. The duo added 52 runs for the 5th wicket before Afif fell for 27 off 49 balls to Jayden Lennox. Captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz came out to bat next. Bangladesh were 184/5 in 40.3 overs at this stage, and this Afif wicket elicited a collapse from the hosts. Hridoy was now losing his partners.
New Zealand bowled tight lines and lengths as just 10 runs were added to the tally before Mehidy fell for 6 off 14 balls to Blair Tickner. Rishad Hossain came out to bat next. The duo of Hridoy and Rishad added 8 runs to the tally before Rishad fell for 4 off 9 balls to Tickner yet again. Shoriful Islam came out to bat next, and he came and went for a golden duck after one run via a wide was added to the total as Tickner had another in the over. Taskin Ahmed came out to bat next.
Hridoy now started to play his shots as he had no choice, and he cleared the ground. Taskin tried to hang in there as much as possible. 11 runs were added to the total before Taskin fell for 2 off 5 balls after he chopped the ball onto the stumps off Tickner. Nahid Rana came out to bat next and survived 3 balls off Tickner. Hridoy hit a maximum to get to his fifty, but it was a bridge too far as 7 runs were added to the tally for the final wicket.
Hridoy was the last man to fall for 55 off 60 balls with 2 fours and 2 sixes to his name as Nathan Smith finished things off in style. Nahid remained unbeaten on 0 off 3 balls as Bangladesh were bowled out for 221 in 48.3 overs. 22 extras given by the fielding side.
Blair Tickner was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 4/40 in 10 overs. He was ably supported by Nathan Smith, who finished with 3/45 in 9.3 overs. Jayden Lennox finished with 1/32 in 10 overs. Dean Foxcroft finished with 1/25 in 6 overs. William O’Rourke finished with 1/51 in 9 overs. Josh Clarkson bowled 4 overs for 27 runs. So, New Zealand beat Bangladesh by 26 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the 3-match ODI series. Dean Foxcroft, for his all-round display, was awarded the Player of the Match award.
What Lies Ahead.Â
So, New Zealand have gone 1-0 up in the 3-match series. They will look to seal the series when the two teams meet on Monday, 20th April, 2026, in Mirpur, Dhaka, for the 2nd ODI, while Bangladesh will be wounded and would like to bounce back and level the series 1-1. A 2-day break before we return on Monday. Let’s see how things pan out on Monday.
Also Read:Â BAN vs NZ: Henry Nicholls & Dean Foxcroft Set Target Of 248