Milne, Phillips, Conway put New Zealand in tri-series final
Shakib struck 70 off 44 balls in the tall chase but his was a lone effort
Glenn Phillips brought up a rapid half-century • Getty Images
Finn Allen started from where he left off against Pakistan in the previous game, going after Bangladesh's bowlers from the first over. He struck Ebadot Hossain for two sixes in three balls in the third over and hit three boundaries to get New Zealand off to a strong start. But Shoriful Islam removed Allen in the fifth over, when Yasir Ali moved to his right at midwicket to catch the skier.
New Zealand's top three gave Phillips the perfect platform to take aim at Bangladesh in the last five overs. He struck Shakib for two sixes - both slog-swept - in the 16th over. Mohammad Saifuddin removed Conway and Mark Chapman in the space of four balls in the following over, but Phillips carried on, slamming Shoriful Islam and Saifuddin for consecutive sixes to reach a half-century off 19 balls. Phillips' strike rate of 250 was the third highest by a New Zealand batter who has scored more than 60 runs in a T20I innings.
Bangladesh, despite using a third opening pair in as many games, had their best powerplay of the tri-series. After Milne cleaned up Najmul Hossain Shanto in the fourth over, Litton Das and Soumya Sarkar attacked the bowlers. But they couldn't convert their starts, with Litton holing out in the sixth over and Soumya ramping one to third man in the 10th over. Bangladesh could not keep up with the required run-rate but for the first time on this tour they looked more comfortable as a batting unit.
Milne bowled well on his comeback from a niggle, while Bracewell continued to impress after his frugal returns in the last two matches. After winning successive Player-of-the-Match awards in the previous matches, Bracewell took two wickets and also completed a difficult catch on the boundary. In the 12th of the Bangladesh innings, he bowled Afif Hossain and conceded just three runs. Later, he took a superb catch on the boundary line to dismiss Yasir Ali.
Mohammad Isam is ESPNcricinfo's Bangladesh correspondent. @isam84