Lethal Latham century guides New Zealand to ODI series win

GettyImages-1308572403
GettyImages-1308572403

A maiden ODI fifty from Devon Conway (72) and a classic captain's knock from Tom Latham (110*) inspired New Zealand to a successful run chase and a five-wicket victory in Christchurch.

As he did in the first ODI, Latham won the toss for the Black Caps and sent Bangladesh out to bat.

The decision seemed a smart one as the Tigers were immediately put under pressure with Liton Das mistiming a pull shot in the second over, hitting it straight into the hands of Will Young as Matt Henry (1/48) bagged the opening wicket of the match.

Fortunately for Bangladesh, captain Tamim Iqbal and Soumya Sarkar steadied the ship and recorded an 81-run partnership.

In came Mitchell Santner (2/51) into the attack, and the left-arm spinner had Sarkar stumped for 32 in the 20th over. Tamim stormed along until he got run out by some great footwork from Jimmy Neesham for 78. The all-rounder sprinted to boot the ball into the stumps with Iqbal well short of his crease.

Mohammad Mithun joined Mushfiqur Rahim in the middle at 133/3 and the duo went on to stitch a partnership of 51 runs pushing Bangladesh's score past 184. Mushfiqur's innings came to an end when he mistimed a shot off Santner's bowling, finding Henry Nicholls in the field.

Despite the loss of Mushfiqur, Mithun carried Bangladesh forward with his innings of 73* runs off 57 balls. The lower-middle order struggled to make an impact as Mahmudullah and Mahedi Hasan failed to get their innings going. Mithun finished his innings unbeaten as Bangladesh set a commendable target of 272.

In the chase, New Zealand got off to a steady start, putting up 28 runs before the end of the fifth over. Martin Guptill then was caught and bowled by Mustafizur Rahman (2/62). Mahedi (2/42) then picked up his maiden ODI wicket, sending back Henry Nicholls for just 13. Two overs later he struck again, dismissing Young (1) after a failed sweep attempt.

Conway and skipper Latham looked to rebuild New Zealand's innings after the early setbacks. The duo came together when New Zealand were at 53/3. They collaborated for a 113-run partnership. Conway made 72 runs in 93 deliveries before being dismissed run out by Tamim.

Neesham accompanied Latham at the crease as the pair put New Zealand on the brink of victory with their 76-run partnership. Neesham eventually fell to Mustafizur with New Zealand needing 30 runs for a win.

Daryl Mitchell accompanied Latham towards the end as the pair provided the finishing touch to the chase, during the course of which Latham achieved his century guiding New Zealand to a series win.

The final ODI will be played at Basin Reserve in Wellington, on Friday, 26 March.