Tigers have earned their second straight win over New Zealand by a thrilling 4 runs after surviving a heroic effort from skipper Tom Latham to lead the five-match series 2-0.
Needing 20 runs in the final over, Latham and his partner managed 15 aided by a no-ball that went for a boundary from Mustafizur Rahman as the Tigers successfully defended 141 on a tricky track at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur on Friday, reports bdnews24.com.
Spinners Shakib Al Hasan (2-29), Mahedi Hasan (1-12) and Nasum Ahmed (1-17) gave Bangladesh all the breakthroughs while Mustafizur and Saif Uddin went wicketless as the Black Caps managed 137 for 5 in their 20-over quota.
Earlier, a solid opening partnership between Mohammad Naim and Liton Das complemented by Mahmudullah's finishing touches took Bangladesh to 141 for six.
Naim (39) and Liton (33) laid a foundation of 59 runs for the opening wicket after being asked to bat first.
When Liton departed after slogging a six, Mushfiqur Rahim perished first ball to put Rachin Ravindra on a hat-trick. But Shakib Al Hasan (12) calmly saw the ball off and hit the gas.
Cracking two boundaries and running hard between the wicket, Shakib was looking good before holing out Cole McConchie at long on to leave the Tigers on 72 for 3.
Mahmudullah, who is now the most successful T20 captain for Bangladesh with 11 wins, then took over with Naim and added 34 off 29 deliveries for the fourth wicket.
As Bangladesh went past 100 and entered the final fifth over, the duo were itching to go big and boost the run rate. Naim took on Ravindra and sent one straight to long off.
The skipper then carried the Bangladesh innings, driving and cutting hard to stay unbeaten.
