New Zealand v Bangladesh, 2016-17
Wisden's review of the first Twenty20 International, New Zealand v Bangladesh, 2016-17
15-Apr-2017
First Twenty20 international At Napier, January 3, 2017 (floodlit). New Zealand won by six wickets. ‡Bangladesh 141-8 (20 overs) (Mahmudullah 52; L. H. Ferguson 3-32); New Zealand 143-4 (18 overs) (K. S. Williamson 73*, C. de Grandhomme 41*). MoM: K. S. Williamson. T20I debuts: T. C. Bruce, L. H. Ferguson, B. M. Wheeler (New Zealand).
On a pitch akin to asphalt, New Zealand's raw attack restricted Bangladesh to a below-par 141. Left-arm seamer Ben Wheeler opened the bowling, recorded 11 dot balls in his first three overs, and finished with 2-22. Lockie Ferguson became the second T20 debutant, after Australia's Michael Kasprowicz, to claim two wickets with his first two deliveries - one a full toss, one a beauty - before Mahmudullah averted the hat-trick by clamping down on a 90mph yorker. He risked whiplash avoiding the next, a ferocious bouncer, and made it to 52 before Ferguson got him in the last over. New Zealand's chase looked vulnerable at 62-4 in the 11th, but Williamson and Colin de Grandhomme cruised to their highest T20 international scores.
On a pitch akin to asphalt, New Zealand's raw attack restricted Bangladesh to a below-par 141. Left-arm seamer Ben Wheeler opened the bowling, recorded 11 dot balls in his first three overs, and finished with 2-22. Lockie Ferguson became the second T20 debutant, after Australia's Michael Kasprowicz, to claim two wickets with his first two deliveries - one a full toss, one a beauty - before Mahmudullah averted the hat-trick by clamping down on a 90mph yorker. He risked whiplash avoiding the next, a ferocious bouncer, and made it to 52 before Ferguson got him in the last over. New Zealand's chase looked vulnerable at 62-4 in the 11th, but Williamson and Colin de Grandhomme cruised to their highest T20 international scores.