CHATTOGRAM, Bangladesh: Najmul Hossain Shanto hit a timely century and Mustafizur Rahman claimed five wickets as Bangladesh secured a 55-run victory over New Zealand in the third one-day international in Chattogram on Thursday to complete a 2-1 series triumph.
Bangladesh set New Zealand 266 for victory after Shanto's patient 105 and Litton Das's fluent 76, and while the Black Caps overcame some initial turbulence to get into a strong position in their chase, they were bowled out for 210 in 44.5 overs.
"It wasn't easy. Boys bowled really well... we knew the conditions, that it would spin and fast bowling would have uneven bounce. We knew early wickets would bring us momentum," said Bangladesh captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz.
Nick Kelly gave the tourists hope scoring 59 but perished chasing a slow, wide ball from Rahman (5-43), and the Bangladesh seamer ran riot from there to ensure his team's victory despite late fireworks from Dean Foxcroft (75).
New Zealand struck early after winning the toss and asking Bangladesh to bat, as Will O'Rourke (3-32) sent back opener Saif Hassan for a two-ball duck and got Tanzid Hasan to play one onto his stumps in the third over.
160-RUN PARTNERSHIP
The paceman similarly bowled out Soumya Sarkar for 18 to leave Bangladesh in trouble at 32-3, but the hosts fought back through a 160-run partnership between Shanto and Das when New Zealand's bowlers went off the boil slightly.
That fourth-wicket stand was broken by Jayden Lennox (2-50) when he bowled Das, before Shanto scored his first ODI century since 2024 and then departed while looking to raise the scoring rate with seven overs remaining.
"The way Litton played, really outstanding. He held one side and I tried to score some runs. It wasn't an easy wicket to bat on," player of the match Shanto said at the post-match presentation.
Bangladesh finished on 265-8 after handy knocks from Towhid Hridoy (33) and Mehidy Hasan Miraz (22), while Ben Lister (2-62) claimed late wickets to keep things in check.
New Zealand won the series opener by 26 runs in Mirpur and the hosts levelled at 1-1 with a six-wicket victory at the same venue on Monday. The teams play three Twenty20 Internationals starting in Chattogram next week. — Reuters
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