New Zealand thrash Bangladesh in 1st ODI; Latham, Young shine
New Zealand have thrashed Bangladesh by 44 runs (DLS method) in the ODI series opener in Dunedin. It was a rain-curtailed affair with both teams being allotted 30 overs to bat. While Will Young and skipper Tom Latham powered the hosts to 239/7 while batting first, Bangladesh could only manage 200/9 in reply. The Kiwis are now 1-0 up in the three-match affair.
How did the game pan out?
Batting first, NZ were off to a terrible start with Henry Nicholls and Rachin Ravindra bagging ducks. Young (105) then joined forces with Latham (92) as the duo steadied the ship with a 171-run stand. Chasing the revised target of 245, the Tigers lost wickets at regular intervals. Anamul Haque (43), Afif Hossain (38), and Towhid Hridoy (33) threw away their starts.
A fine knock from Young
Young ended up scoring an 84-ball 105 (14 fours, 4 sixes). Young has now raced to 1,129 runs across 29 ODIs at 43.42. He has amassed three tons and seven fifties. As per ESPNcricinfo, Young has raced to 889 runs across 29 matches this year at a remarkable average of 44.45. Among NZ batters, Young is only behind Daryl Mitchell (1,204) in this regard.
4,000 ODI runs for Latham
Latham scored 92 off 77 balls (9 fours, 3 sixes). Latham, who debuted in ODIs back in 2012, took 145 games to accomplish 4,000 (4,044) ODI runs. He averages 34.86 in ODIs as his strike rate reads 85.75. Besides 24 fifties, he has also clobbered seven tons with 145* being his best score. 1,523 of Latham's ODI runs have come as a captain.
Latham's run in ODIs this year
The veteran batter has blown hot and cold in ODIs this year though he smashed his sixth fifty in this format. Latham has raced to 662 runs across 28 matches at 28.78 in 2023. He is the fifth-highest run-scorer for the Kiwis in ODIs this year. He could only manage 155 runs at 25.83 in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup.
Clinical show from NZ bowlers
It was a collective show from the NZ bowlers as all of their six bowling options in the game were among the wickets. Adam Milne, who claimed 2/46, has now raced to 56 ODI scalps at 34.55. Leg-spinner Ish Sodhi returned with 2/35. He boasts 63 scalps at 35.73. Debutant pacer Josh Clarkson also fared well, claiming 2/24.
