Heavy rain is forecast for Auckland today, which does not bode well for tonight’s final game.
The home team took an unassailable 2-0 lead with a 28-run Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) win in Napier on Tuesday night.
The rain-affected match was mostly memorable for the delay in confirming a revised target for the tourists.
The official word is there was an operational problem which meant the DLS calculations could not be provided for the teams.
But Bangladesh actually got its chase under way before knowing what target it was chasing.
The game had to be stopped until match referee Jeff Crowe could confirm the revised target of 171. It was all a bit odd and there was a lot of scrambling happening on the sidelines.
Earlier, the Black Caps posted 173 for five from 17.5 overs.
Glenn Phillips whacked 58 not out from 31 balls and combined in an undefeated 62-run stand with Daryl Mitchell.
The Black Caps’ innings had been teetering before the pair were able to steer their side towards a decent total.
Mitchell stroked six fours during his 16-ball, 34-run cameo.
He is having quite the summer. There has been a maiden test century and maiden ODI 100 to celebrate.
Promising Wellington opener Finn Allen (17) posted his first international runs. He had an extraordinary Super Smash campaign but has not yet been able to have the same impact at international level.
Once Bangladesh unravelled the mystery of how many it needed for victory, it made some large steps towards recording a maiden win against the Black Caps in New Zealand.
Soumya Sarkar unleashed some booming shots on his way to a 25-ball half-century.
He teamed up with Naim Sheikh (38) to get the tourists into what was perhaps best described as a commanding position.
But Black Caps captain Tim Southee brought himself back on and removed Sarkar for 51.
His departure ushered in a rapid demise for the Tigers, who ended up being restricted to 142 for seven.
Phillips was able to get through three cheap overs and build pressure, while fast bowler Adam Milne struck twice in the 14th over to further slow progress.
But Southee was the pick of the Black Caps’ bowlers. His two for 21 was an impressive shift and helped turn the game.
