New Zealand Win Third T20I via DLS Method to Level the Series

New Zealand have taken a 17-run victory via DLS in the Third T20I with a quality bowling performance. 

The home side got off to a great start with the bat as Tim Southee took the wicket of Bangladeshi opener Soumya Sarkar in the first over for four. 

Captain Najmul Hossain Shanto and Rony Talukdar put the pressure on the New Zealand bowlers with Milne’s first over going for nine runs. Shanto found the boundary four times in his 17 runs that he contributed. 

Milne picked Shanto up in the fifth over to leave Bangladesh at 31/2. Talukdar went in the next over for 10 as he was trapped LBW by Ben Sears.

The New Zealanders kept picking up wickets with Mitchell Santner the main destroyer of Bangladesh’s batters with the loss of five wickets from the score of 59/3 to 87/8.

Afif Hossain was the first to go for 14, Towhid Hridoy for 16, Mahedi Hasan for 4, and Sahmim Hossain all fell to Santner as he picked up 4/16 - his third T20I four-wicket haul. Sears picked up Shoriful Islam for 4. 

Tanvir Islam and Rishad Hossain put on 18 runs for the ninth wicket but Islam fell in the 19th over to Southee and then Milne had Hossain in the final for four, which was also Milne’s 50th T20I wicket for Aotearoa.

The Kiwis were on the back foot early with the dismissal of Tim Seifert in the second over for 1. 

Finn Allen was going after the Bangladesh bowlers early as he regularly found the boundary. Daryl Mitchell on the other hand could do very little as he only made one, falling to Mahedi Hasan. 

Glenn Phillips also topped off a poor series with the bat as he was dismissed for one and New Zealand were in serious trouble at 30/3 after five overs.

Mark Chapman had an unfortunate runout as he collided with Allen running between the wickets and was unable to get back in his crease in time. He was out for 1 from five.

With Bangladesh having New Zealand four down, it looked like the home side would need a big innings from the young opener. He fell in the ninth over for 38, leaving New Zealand at 49/5. 

Jimmy Neesham only knew one way and this was to attack. With rain on the horizon and New Zealand sitting at the DLS par score, a 14-run tenth over swung the favour back in the Kiwi's way. 

Neesham and Santner could see New Zealand through to the 14.5th ball of the game when rain fell heavily and eventually was called off. 

This gave New Zealand a 17-run win on DLS and levelled the series 1-1.