Black Caps vs Bangladesh: Trent Boult shines as New Zealand crushes tourists

The New Zealand hitters hardly needed to break a sweat, but Devon Conway marred his debut with an unusually weak shot.

The Black Caps scored an eight-wicket victory in the one-day opening international match against Bangladesh after their attack dismissed tourists by just 131 in Dunedin on Saturday, paving the way for starter Henry Nicholls to lead New Zealand. home in cruise mode after only 21.2 overs.

In front of a sold-out crowd of 5,475 at the University Oval, Nicholls hit 49, no out, with a serene punch and it looked like Conway would be with him until the end of innings before he was caught for 27.

The chase was short, but not so sweet for inexperienced Bangladeshi bowlers as Martin Guptill came into the area with an attacking mentality.

READ MORE:
* Live: Black Caps v Bangladesh – first ODI
* Frankie Mackay hoping to lead the Canterbury Magicians to a second national double
* Black Caps vs Bangladesh Burning Questions: Can Tourists End Their Losing Streak Here?
* Black Caps vs Bangladesh: Tom Latham says Devon Conway can do a Kane Williamson
* Wellington Firebirds star Finn Allen will follow the IPL campaign with a season in England

The starter form had been in the spotlight until a good T20 inning against Australia in Dunedin last month, and he again showed his taste for University Oval with some massive shots on the edge.

Guptill hit four sixes and three fours as New Zealand raced to 50 within five overs, but tried to launch the Bangladesh attack into orbit once too often, landing a delivery from Taskin Ahmed to split to 38 runs.

That brought rookie Conway into the middle, and the mature racing machine was happy to consistently rack up its first international ODI races while Nicholls provided the most aggressive stance from the other end.

Still, Guptill’s firing had a similar effect to Team NZ falling off their foils, and the Black Caps moved at a relatively calm pace for the rest of their innings.

Earlier, reserve captain Tom Latham, in his 100th ODI, won the draw and decided to go bowling on a cloudy morning, with Conway, Will Young and Daryl Mitchell named to debut.

As has been the trend in ODIs in recent years, Tim Southee was the bowler who missed, but there was no respite for tourists due to the conditions and variety in the Black Caps attack.

Boult, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson and Jimmy Neesham caused trouble in Bangladesh, and Jamieson justified his selection after a challenging T20 series with some consistent lift and line and length deliveries despite not claiming a wicket.

However, Boult was the bowlers’ choice, finishing 4-27, and made the breakthrough in the fifth over of innings and the third over of his exceptional opening spell.

Bangladesh captain Tamim Iqbal had already been beaten twice by Boult’s swing and pace before being caught lbw by the world’s best ODI bowler.

Boult grabbed his second wicket just three balls later, with Soumya Sarkar throwing a poor shot at Devon Conway on point.

Starter Liton Kumer Das was the next to go, fooled by a slower ball from Neesham to leave Bangladesh reeling at 42-3.

Mitchell Santner was introduced in the 20th and started orderly, and Bangladesh’s slow racing pace tempted Mushfiqur Rahim with a headlong hit from the first ball of Neesham’s next over, sending the tiny batter back to the pavilion for 23 runs won with effort.

Neesham’s second wicket showed how much tourists struggled with the extra bounce generated by Black Caps bowlers.

Boult, in particular, was getting good transportation from the University Oval end of the harbor, with Latham forced to take a few deliveries over his head.

Luck then left Bangladesh. Mohammad Mithun tried to hit Neesham out of the window, but the off-roader hit the ball with the tip of a finger and Mithun could only watch in despair as the ball slammed into the non-forward’s stumps.

The wicket put the Black Caps in full control at 72-5 and they quickly reintroduced Henry to attack in place of Santner.

Henry’s bowling had been effective without much payoff, and he and Santner finished with the most economical figures in a disciplined and balanced discipline.

The class gulf between the two sides was encapsulated by the next wicket. Mehidy Hasan Miraz did a full hash of a benign-looking Santner pitch that was thrown around his legs for just one run.

Henry and Boult then cleaned their tails with ease to give the Black Caps hitters a total they easily managed to take a 1-0 lead in the three-game series, with the second game scheduled for Tuesday in Christchurch.