Bangladesh vs New Zealand, 1st ODI, New Zealand tour of Bangladesh, 2026 - CommentaryBAN vs NZ, 1st ODI, New Zealand tour of Bangladesh, 2026 - Commentary

That's it from this game. We will catch you all for the second ODI on Monday. Good night!

Tom Latham | New Zealand captain: Yeah, we were pretty happy at the halfway mark. It wasn't perfect by all means, but the guys found a way to get to a really competitive total. The reason for batting first was were hoping that the wicket was going to deteriorate and get harder. And I certainly thought, it definitely did that towards the back end of the innings tonight. So, yeah, full credit to the guys. We scrapped away and it was a great performance. (On the batters) Yeah, they played fantastically well. For us, we, as a batting unit, we talk about partnerships and contributions. And sometimes the partnerships, they look slightly different and it's not necessarily, the guys that have the big partnerships, those small contributions, once the wickets fell and that was really important today, even towards the back end with a few of the bowlers. So, credit to the way Dean (Foxcroft) anchored that innings towards the back end and did well to get us to a really competitive total. (Winning the first game of the series) Yeah, I think for us it's always about improving and putting a good performance on and adapting to conditions and things like that. So hopefully results take care of itself if we're doing the things that we want to do from a team point of view. And look, we obviously fell on the right side tonight. We did a lot of good things. Hopefully we'll also be better off with that experience of playing on a surface like that. And potentially it might be the same in a couple of days' time, but it might be different. And yeah, as I said, I thought we did that really well today.

Dean Foxcroft | PoTM: I had played a couple of games here last year with the New Zealand A team. I think it obviously helped quite a bit in terms of knowing the conditions and stuff. But yeah, I thought the boys, great team performance today. I think with the bat and the ball and even in the field, I think they were just outstanding today for us. So yeah, obviously the past tour has helped quite a bit and good to obviously prepare well. (Did you think the score was enough?) Yeah, 100%. We thought 240 is pretty par score, but we knew that obviously we got to bowl well as they got a quality batting lineup. So for us, just making sure that we stick to our guns and making sure we're putting on a great performance with the ball, but also with the field that backs the bowlers up. It's not an easy place to come here and win games. So yeah, good performance from the boys. No, it was obviously extremely hot, and we're not used to it. It's winter in New Zealand now. We just want to take the challenges on with what's given to us and hopefully come out on top. And yeah, today was our day.

Mehidy Hasan Miraz | Bangladesh captain: (Happy to keep them to 247?) Yeah, definitely. I think we bowled really well and (even) 270 is not difficult to chase on this wicket and I think it's a great wicket and our bowlers did very well (to restrict). If we had taken two catches, definitely we would have kept them under 200 runs. So, it's a little mistake from our team. I think we have a lot of positives as well. There are definitely quite a few positives and one of the positives came as a blessing in disguise, the inclusion of Shoriful last minute. (On Shoriful) It's a great opportunity for him. Last minute Mustafizur got injured and after that it will be difficult for any player because the preparation wise he didn't know that he is playing this one. Fortunately, he came and he bowled really well and after a long time he came and bowled. (Positives with the bat) Yeah, definitely. I think back-to-back two wickets is always the key for the opponent's team. And the way Litton and Towhid batted was brilliant. And after that, Towhid and Afif. Definitely we had to finish well, otherwise we cannot win because in the chase always making big partnership helps. If we made a big partnership, definitely we would have won this one. (Where did you lose the match?) Yes, sometimes it can happen. Yes, I think all players are excited and everybody wanted to do win and sometimes it can happen.

19:32 Local Time, 13:32 GMT: Bangladesh had exactly wiped out half of the target by the 25th over. All they needed to do was play smart cricket and take it closer. Instead they played too many dots and let the bowlers build pressure. They didn't factor in the ageing ball and a deteriorating pitch. Lennox was unplayable with time with the ball disturbing the top surface almost every single ball. Tickner was unrelenting with his intensity. Foxcroft operated smartly and Nathan Smith set the tone early. The run rate slowly increased from 5 to 6 to 7 and so on. With pressure, Bangladesh lost wickets as well and Towhid was a lone warrior. He was crying for support at the other end but they were unwilling. Shot selection has to be questioned and in the end they left him too much to do all by himself and eventually he succumbed as well. And thus New Zealand go 1-0 up in this three match series, by keeping it simple, using the ageing the ball and pitch to great effect with disciplined bowling and made Bangladesh lose it in their minds and on the field as well.

Nathan Smith to Towhid Hridoy, THATS OUT!! Caught!!

Blair Tickner to Taskin Ahmed, THATS OUT!! Bowled!!