Tom Latham after match-turning knock: 'You dream about these things'

The second ODI against Bangladesh was the third occasion when Tom Latham scored an unbeaten century in a successful ODI chase for New Zealand. This time there was a slight difference. Latham had to drag his side out of trouble against Bangladesh, but doing it at his home ground - Hagley Park - was, according to Latham, a fine experience.

Latham made an unbeaten 110 to lead his side to a 2-0 lead in the three-match ODI series. From 55 for 3 in the chase however, the visitors looked in control. Then Latham added 113 for the fourth wicket with Devon Conway, another 76 for the fifth wicket with Jimmy Neesham and a further 33 for the unbroken sixth wicket with Daryl Mitchell to see the hosts home.

Latham said that chasing 271 in the first men's day-night game at this venue was attainable as long as they forged these useful partnerships. "You dream about those things when you are playing for your country, in front of your home crowd," Latham said. "We haven't played a lot of matches here under lights but it was very satisfying to win the game. As a middle-order batsman, I have to be adaptable to every situation. It was about trying to build partnerships today.

"Once Dev [Conway] got out, I tried to be there till the end. It was important to be there at the end, and build those partnerships. I thought Neesham and Daryl played outstanding knocks. They may not be massive partnerships, but they are significant contributions throughout the innings."

Latham said that he removed the sweep shot from his repertoire for the evening, as he felt it was a high-risk shot against the Bangladesh offspinners. He added that he was surprised to see Tamim Iqbal use Mahedi Hasan and Mehidy Hasan Miraz quite early in their 272-run defense.

"I tried to be proactive by putting the bowler under a little bit of pressure. By using my feet or going getting deep in the crease. I thought it was a tough option to use the sweep, so I put that away today. I tried to hit the ball down the ground," he said.

"We knew that they would come at us with the offspinners against the two lefties. We never thought they'd use their [spin] resource reasonably early."

He praised Conway for his 72 off 93 balls, an innings that eased a bit of pressure on Latham during their crucial partnership. "He has taken to international cricket pretty well in the two formats that he has played.

"He has had great amount of domestic success for the last couple of years. It is great to see guys come from domestic cricket and perform at the international level straightaway."