Bangladesh bundle out New Zealand for their joint-lowest T20I score

New Zealand registered their joint-lowest T20I score in the first match of the series against Bangladesh in Dhaka on Wednesday. Electing to bat, New Zealand were bowled out for 60 in the 17th over. Mustafizur Rahman claimed three wickets while Shakib Al Hasan, Nasum Ahmed and Mohammad Saifuddin contributed with two wickets each.

New Zealand skipper Tom Latham and Henry Nicholls were the joint-top scorers with 18 runs each. The southpaws added 34 runs for the fifth wicket, which was the highest in the innings.

The visitors, who are playing their first international match since their World Test Championship (WTC) triumph in June, lost the wicket of debutant Rachin Ravindra on the third ball of the match. By the end of the fourth over, they were 9/4. The Kiwis could only reach 18/4 at the end of the powerplay.

New Zealand’s innings run-rate of 3.56 is the lowest run-rate recorded in a completed innings by a full-member nation in men’s T20Is.

Mustafizur Rahman in the last 7 T20I Int'l Match:-•31/3 (4 Overs).•16/2 (4 Overs).•23/3 (4 Overs).•9/0 (4 Overs).•9/2 (4 Overs).•3/0 (1 Over).•13/3 (2.5 Overs).#BANvNZ

— CricketMAN2 (@man4_cricket) September 1, 2021

Last month, Bangladesh recorded their first-ever win over Australia in any format by beating the Matthew Wade-led side 4-1 in a five-T20I series. In the final ODI, Bangladesh bowled out the Australians for 62, their lowest T20I score. The series was played on surfaces assisting a lot of turn. The start of the ongoing series against New Zealand indicates that a similar story may play out in the current series.

New Zealand’s new low in T20Is

During a 2014 T20 World Cup match against Sri Lanka, New Zealand were also bowled out for 60 at Chittagong. Coincidentally, both the record lowest scores by the Kiwis have come in Bangladesh, a country where they haven’t enjoyed a lot of success.

Lowest T20I scores

• West Indies 45 (11.5) vs England, Basseterre (WI), 2019
• New Zealand 60 (16.5) vs Bangladesh, Dhaka (BAN), 2021
• New Zealand 60 (15.3) vs Sri Lanka, Chittagong (BAN), 2014
• West Indies 60 (13.4) vs Pakistan, Karachi (PAK), 2018
• Australia 62 (13.4) vs Bangladesh, Dhaka (BAN), 2021

Interestingly, two of the five lowest scores in the above list have come in consecutive months at the same venue.

New Zealand men's lowest T20I total:-60 - vs SL in 201460 - vs BAN in 2021New Zealand women's lowest T20I total:-60 - vs ENG in 2015#BANvNZ

— Kausthub Gudipati (@kaustats) September 1, 2021