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New Zealand take 1-0 lead after Sodhi’s career-best show
Ish Sodhi’s career-best performance (6-39) in ODI cricket set up New Zealand’s 86-run victory in the second ODI against Bangladesh as they took a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. After a useful contribution with the bat that lifted New Zealand to 254, Sodhi bagged his maiden five-wicket haul in ODIs to skittle Bangladesh out for 168 in Dhaka on Saturday (September 23).
Litton Das reviewed in the very first over of the chase to reverse a leg-before decision after being struck on the pad by Trent Boult. The openers, though, weren’t able to score freely as Boult and Kyle Jamieson bowled in the right channels to keep Litton and Tamim Iqbal in check. New Zealand reaped the reward soon as Litton, in his attempt to upper-cut a Jamieson delivery, was caught at third man. Tamim, who was on 10 off 20 at that stage, picked up pace with his scoring with regular boundaries – including three in an over off Jamieson.
Tanzid Hasan also dealt in fours before Sodhi ended a promising stand by having the No.3 caught at mid off. Soumya Sarkar fell for a two-ball duck, handing a catch back to Sodhi in the same over. Sodhi bagged his third as he had Towhid Hridoy bowled with a wrong ‘un. The senior pair of Tamim and Mahmudullah tried to steady the ship but their partnership ended on 22 as Sodhi struck again. Attempting a sweep, Tamim got a bit of a glove through to the ‘keeper. The onfield decision was not out and New Zealand took the review but Tamim decided to walk, departing for 44 to leave Bangladesh at 92/5.
Mahedi Hasan got an lbw decision overturned and then put on a 42-run partnership with Mahmudullah as they tried to get Bangladesh back in the chase. However, their association was ended by Sodhi as he had Mahedi bowled for 17. A few overs later Mahmudullah was dismissed by Cole McConchie on 49, caught at backward square leg. Sodhi returned to the attack and picked up his sixth, getting Hasan Mahmud bowled with a googly. Jamieson and Ferguson cleaned up the tail as New Zealand secured a facile win, ending Bangladesh’s innings in the 42nd over.
Earlier, Bangladesh’s pacers and spinners complemented each other well as they combined to restrict New Zealand with disciplined bowling. Mahedi and debutant Khaled Ahmed picked up three wickets each after Mustafizur Rahman made early inroads with a couple of scalps. Tom Blundell resurrected the innings with a 66-ball 68 and put on 95 for the fourth wicket with Henry Nicholls (49). But Bangladesh hit back with quick wickets and it took Ish Sodhi’s 35 to help them past the 250 mark.
After New Zealand skipper Lockie Ferguson decided to bat first, New Zealand suffered early setbacks as Will Young departed for an 8-ball duck, edging a Mustafizur delivery to the ‘keeper, and the left-arm seamer also accounted for Finn Allen, getting him to edge to slip. Chad Bowes, who looked in good touch, was the next to depart as he flicked Khaled’s short delivery straight to square leg. A good partnership between Blundell and Nicholls ensued, with timely boundaries and smart rotation of strike helping build the fourth wicket stand. But Nicholls missed out on a fifty by a solitary run, getting an edge off Khaled. Rachin Ravindra began in a positive manner while Blundell hit the first six of the innings as they added 26 before Mahedi ended Ravindra’s stay. Mahmud then bagged the important wicket of Blundell and McConchie was out lbw to Nasum Ahmed as Bangladesh reduced New Zealand to 187/7.
New Zealand received some much needed impetus in the death overs through Jamieson and Sodhi as they pressed on the accelerator. The eighth wicket stand, however, came to an end on 32 when Mahedi outsmarted Jamieson. In late drama, Mahmud had Sodhi, who had ventured out of the crease, run out at the non-striker’s end but captain Litton Das decided to call back the batter. Ferguson scored some useful runs as he struck a four and a six before getting out stumped off Mahedi. Sodhi then hit a six off Mahedi, who finished with career-best figures of 3-45. Sodhi got his third six when Sarkar parried the ball over the boundary in the final over but Khaled ended his stay soon after, having him caught behind to pick up his third – with Bangladesh having to use a review.
Brief scores:
New Zealand 254 in 49.2 overs (Tom Blundell 68, Henry Nicholls 49; Mahedi Hasan 3-45, Khaled Ahmed 3-60) beat Bangladesh 168 in 41.1 overs (Mahmudullah 49, Tamim Iqbal 44; Ish Sodhi 6-39) by 86 runs.
(Cricbuzz)
The first truly heavyweight clash of this expanded T20 World Cup format comes freighted with both history and subplots. A rematch of the 2010 World T20 final at Kensington Oval, the match pits Jos Buttler’s defending champions – who are aiming to become the first team to retain the trophy – against the Australian winning machine, victors at the 2021 edition and current world title-holders in Test and ODI cricket. And that’s before you throw in the Ashes for afters.
Already there is added pressure on England, after the rain in Bridgetown led to a share of the points in their opener against Scotland (and that having conceded 90 runs from 10 overs without taking a wicket in a tepid bowling display). Lose to their oldest rivals and it will leave their Super 8 prospects open to being waylaid by the perils of net run-rate calculations, or worse.
The Scotland match was the third abandonment in five suffered by England, after a rain-affected home series against Pakistan, which has clearly hampered their readiness for this campaign after almost six months without playing T20 together. It does not take much for a side to click in this format – and England looked in decent shape when they did get on the field against Pakistan – but Buttler will be anxious for things to go their way on Saturday, if only to avoid further questions referencing the team’s disastrous ODI World Cup defence last year.
Australia, under the laidback leadership of Mitchell Marsh would love nothing more than to add to the English sense of jeopardy – having helped bundle them out of the tournament in India on the way to taking the crown. Their head to head record is less impressive in T20 however, with England having won six of the last seven completed encounters, as well as that 2010 final.
Despite a wobble with the bat, Australia avoided mishap against Oman earlier in the week, the experience of David Warner and Marcus Stoinis shining through in difficult batting conditions. Surfaces in the Caribbean – not to mention those games staged in the USA – have already had teams scratching their heads; rather than the “slug-fest” England had prepared for, following a high-scoring tour of the Caribbean in December, it looks as if boxing smart may be the way to go.
Speaking of Warner, this could be the last time he faces up against England in national colours – and another match-winning contribution would likely reduce the chances of them meeting again in the knockouts. On the other side of the card is Jofra Archer, fresh from an emotional maiden outing at Kensington Oval and ready to take on Australia for the first time in any format since 2020. Can Mark Wood fire up England’s campaign, as he did during last summer’s Ashes? Will Pat Cummins be back to harass the old enemy once again? Seconds out, it’s almost time to rumble.
Cummins is set to return after being rested for the Oman game, which saw Mitchell Starc leave the field with cramp. Starc is understood to be fine and could keep his place – which would likely see Nathan Ellis miss out. Marsh is still not fit to bowl, with Australia likely to continue with the allrounder combination of Stoinis and Maxwell to give them cover.
Australia (probable XI): David Warner, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh (capt), Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Josh Inglis (wk), Tim David, Pat Cummins, Nathan Ellis/Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
The one change England may consider is Reece Topley coming in for Wood, with the expectation that there will be some rotation among the seamers through the course of the tournament.
England (probable XI): Phil Salt, Jos Buttler (capt & wk), Will Jacks, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Chris Jordan, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Reece Topley/Mark Wood
[Cricinfo]
Once is coincidence, twice is a clue, and three times is proof.
To paraphrase Agatha Christie, that is the narrative around South Africa’s meeting with Netherlands at this T20 World Cup.
The Dutch beat South Africa at the 2022 tournament and ended their semi-final hopes in a match where South Africa appeared to be sleep walking, and then beat them again at the 2023 ODI World Cup, where they exposed South Africa’s vulnerability in the chase. If they to do the treble, not only will Netherlands take the lead in Group D, but they will offer conclusive evidence of the threat they pose to Full Members, especially South Africa.
Of course, it will take some doing after South Africa’s opening performance against Sri Lanka, where they reduced their opposition to their lowest T20I total and chased it down in fairly straightforward fashion thanks to the most stable middle-order of their white-ball era. In Aiden Markram, Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller, South Africa have bankers and big-hitters and, for this match, they also have the advantage of experience. They’ve already played at Eisenhower Park, and have first-hand knowledge that run-scoring doesn’t come easily;Klassen said they are prepared to use their “cricket brains” and play “smarter cricket”.
But the conditions could be good news for Netherlands, who are not naturally a line-up of big hitters and build their innings on a foundation of turning ones into twos. In other words, they tend to take a slightly more conservative approach to batting, which may work well here, but they’ll be wary of the uneven bounce of the surface and will have to come up with plans to counterattack especially against South Africa’s seamers. Their own bowlers were exemplary in Dallas and will look to build on that performance against a line-up that will likely be more proactive than Nepal’s, but who they have managed to keep quiet not once, but twice in the past. Third time’s the charm, they say.
Anrich Nortje’s stunning return to form against Sri Lanka means South Africa may not have to tinker with the bowling combination, and Gerald Coetzee and Tabraiz Shamsi may have to wait their turns to get a game. The batting line-up should be unchanged, with no space for Ryan Rickelton yet.
South Africa: Quinton de Kock (wk), Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markam, Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), David Miller, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Ottneil Baartman, Anrich Nortje
Conditions in New York may tempt Netherlands to include an extra seamer and they have Kyle Klein in their squad. But it could come at the expense of a shortened batting line-up and they may not want to risk that.
Netherlands: Michael Levitt, Max O’Dowd, Vikramjit Singh, Sybrand Engelbrecht, Scott Edwards (capt, wk), Bas de Leede, Teja Nidamanuru, Logan van Beek, Tim Pringle, Paul van Meekeren, Vivian Kingma
[Cricinfo]
Nuwan Thushara’s last over brought Sri Lanka screaming back into the match,as he first bowled Rishad Hossain, and then nailed Taskin Ahmed in front of the stumps with a pinpoint swinging yorker. This left Bangladesh eight wickets down, with 12 runs still to get.
However, the experienced Mahmudullah was at the crease for Bangladesh, and despite some further nervy moments, pushed Bangladesh across the line off the last ball of the 19th over.
But this was a match chiefly decided by Bangladesh’s own outstanding bowling. Mustafizur Rahman was the best among them, using shorter lengths and his cutters efficiently, to claim figures of 3 for 17. Rishad Hossain’s three-for through the middle overs also kept Sri Lanka quiet.
Mustafizur was instrumental in Sri Lanka’s downward spiral through the middle overs, which culminated in a crash-and-burn end. Ultimately, their inability to find boundaries, or even rotate strike against good Bangladesh bowling resulted in their downfall. A score of 125 for 9 always seemed poor on a decent pitch, even if their bowlers made a match of it in the end.
Brief scores:
Bangladesh 125 for 8 in 19 overs (Towhid Hridoy 40, Litton Das 36; Dhanajaya de Silva 1-11, Nuwan Thushara 4-18, Wanidu Hasaranga 2-32, Matheesha Pathirana 1-27) beat Sri Lanka124 for 9 in 20 overs (Pathum Nissanka 47, Dhananjaya de Silva 21; Tanzim Hasan Sakib 1-24, Taskin Ahmed 2-25, Mustafizur Rahman 3-17, Rishad Hossain 3-22) by two wickets
[Cricinfo]
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