Rajasthan Royals roast New Zealand for losing three early wickets against Bangladesh in 1st T20I ft. 2019 World Cup semifinal

Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Rajasthan Royals (RR) roasted the New Zealand team for losing early wickets during the first T20I against Bangladesh at McLean Park in Napier on Wednesday, December 27.

The Blackcaps were reduced 1/3 as Finn Allen departed for just one run, while Tim Seifert and Glenn Phillips lost their wickets for ducks. Mahedi Hasan cleaned up Seifert before Shoriful Islam’s double strike helped the visitors remove Allen and Phillips.

RR shared a meme on X (formerly known as Twitter):

For the unversed, the reference is regarding the 2019 World Cup semifinal between India and New Zealand. The Kiwis had reduced the Men in Blue to 5/3, with KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, and then-captain Virat Kohli scoring identical figures of one run. New Zealand won the game by 18 runs to qualify for the finals.

The Blackcaps, however, lost to eventual champions England in the summit clash. Team India,avenged their World Cup loss by defeating Kiwis twice in the league stage during the 2023 World Cup. The hosts, however, lost to eventual champions Australia in the final.

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New Zealand set 135-run target for Bangladesh in 1st T20I

A fighting knock from James Neesham helped New Zealand post a respectable total of 134/9 in their allotted 20 overs against Bangladesh in the opening game. The right-handed batter smashed 48 runs off 29 balls, including three sixes and four boundaries, as the Kiwis continued to lose wickets at regular intervals.

Captain Mitchell Santner, Mark Chapman, Adam Milne, and Daryl Mitchell chipped in with scores of 23, 19, 16, and 14, respectively.

Shoriful Islam starred with the ball for Bangladesh, returning with figures of 3/26, while Mahedi Hasan and Mustafizur Rahman bagged two wickets apiece. Tanzim Hasan Shakib and Rihad Hossain also settled for one wicket apiece.

Follow the NZ vs BAN 1st T20I live score and updates here.