Bangladesh's success in the ODI series spilled over to the T20Is as they took an early 1-0 lead against New Zealand in Chattogram. Towhid Hridoy was at the heart of that result, scoring a 27-ball 51 - an innings laced with two fours and three sixes. Parvez Hossain (28 off 14) and Shamim Hossain (31* off 13) also made vital contributions towards chasing down New Zealand's 182/6 with six wickets and two overs to spare.
New Zealand had two half-centurions and a flying start that saw them get 61 in the Powerplay and post 100 at the halfway stage. Opener Katene Clarke made 51 off 37 and added 88 with no.3 batter Dane Cleaver, who finished with an identical score. Captain Nick Kelly chipped in with a 27-ball 39 but New Zealand regressed in the second half. It took a cameo from Josh Clarkson - 27 off 14 - to push the visitors to 182/6 on what appeared to be a flat deck.
Bangladesh's start was brisk and strokeful through openers Saif Hasan and Tanzid Tamim but Nathan Smith and Ish Sodhi ruffled a few feathers to pull the game back. Smith took out Hasan while Sodhi dismissed Tamim and No.3 batter Litton Das to reduce the hosts to 77/3 in 10.1 overs. They were behind the eight-ball at this stage but were duly rescued by two fiery stands - Hridoy and Parvez Hossain hit 57 off just 28, after which Shamim entered the scene to add 49 off 19 with Hridoy.
Hridoy and Hossain quickly moved on from Litton's dismissal, smashing two sixes and a four in the same over. They upped the scoring rate over the next four overs before Josh Clarkson broke the stand with Hossain's wicket. Bangladesh went into the death overs needing 48 off 30 balls, with New Zealand still clinging on.
Hridoy and Shamim eased the pressure by tonking a six each off Smith before fully turning the game around in the 17th over. Shamim led the way against Matthew Fisher, hitting three fours and a six in a 25-run over. Just like that, the equation was reduced to just five runs from three overs. In the 18th over from Ben Lister, Hridoy got to his half-century and then capped off the chase with the winning run.
@B0$New Zealand 182/6 in 20 overs (Katene Clarke 51, Dane Cleaver 51; Rishad Hossain 2-32) lost to Bangladesh 183/4 in 18 overs (Towhid Hridoy 51, Shamim Hossain 31*; Ish Sodhi 2-40) by 6 wickets
