Bangladesh is guaranteed to have at least one hand on the trophy going into the last game, leading 1-0.
There was no outcome between Bangladesh and New Zealand (Seifert 43, Tanzim 1-15) at 72 for 2 in 11 overs.
While Mount Maunganui saw a healthy Friday crowd to begin the year-end weekend, the second Twenty20 International between Bangladesh and New Zealand ended in a rain-shortened match after just 11 overs of play.
Bangladesh had to battle back following Tim Seifert‘s early attack, and the score was tied with New Zealand at 72 for 2 in 11 overs.
Craig McMillan on the broadcast described Seifert’s innings as “he swung like a rusty gate,” which is a fitting description of the opener’s stay, with a couple of fortunate boundaries off slogs contributing to New Zealand’s early momentum. Seifert hit 43 in 23 balls with six fours and one six, but it was hardly a spectacular performance.
But it was a crucial innings because, in the second over of the match, Finn Allen drove Shoriful Islam to cover, and Daryl Mitchell, who came in at No. 3, was a slow starter after Bangladesh chose to bowl. In between, on August 8, Seifert was also struck on the side of his helmet at the non-striker’s side after Mitchell crunched a drive back, but he went on without a word from the physiotherapist.
In his 18-ball stay, Mitchell struggled to overhit Bangladesh’s pacers or legspinner Rishad Hossain, who kept Mitchell and No. 4 Glenn Phillips (9* in 14) in check with three overs at 3.33 apiece.
Soumya Sarkar was busy manning long-on, and it was Najmul Hossain Shanto’s superb catch running behind from cover that removed a rampaging Seifert in the eighth over. Bangladesh’s strong fielding added to the pressure on a slippery surface.
Bangladesh would have needed 46 in five overs if there had been a brief DLS-adjusted chase, but those were remote chances as the light drizzle quickly grew in intensity and forced the players off the field. The rain never stopped, only intensified, and at 9:55 p.m. local time, the umpires called off the match.
Bangladesh will have at least one hand on this T20I trophy on Sunday, as confirmed by Friday’s washout; New Zealand can only even the series in the third T20I on December 31, with the hosts behind 0-1.