Bangladesh set to chase 171 in 16 overs

New Zealand scored 173 runs in 17.5 overs before rain stopped play for the second time in the second T20I in Napier on Tuesday, forcing the DLS method into play and it was calculated, after a god-awful delay, that Bangladesh will have to chase in 16 overs.

Bangladesh batted for 1.3 overs thinking they were chasing 148 in 16 overs, before the match officials finally came up with new calculations that the men in red and green would need to chase 170 in 16 overs. The target was revised again, late into the match, to 171.

The Tigers would perhaps take this farcical situation as a comic relief in a tour which has ranged from pathetic to tragic for them.   

Earlier, having been put in to bat, the hosts kept up a healthy scoring rate despite losing wickets at regular intervals.

Glenn Phillips (58*) and Daryl Mitchell (34*) drove New Zealand towards a massive total. Mahedi Hasan took two wickets while Taskin Ahmed, Saif Uddin and Shoriful Islam picked up a wicket each. Nasum Ahmed (0-25) was the most impressive of the Bangladesh bowlers though.

Taskin Ahmed's one-handed catch to remove Martin Guptill pumped up the visitors, who are still looking for a victory in these shores in their 20-year history of touring the country.

Earlier, Bangladesh won the toss and decided to bowl first. There was drizzle at the toss and skipper Mahmudullah Riyad said his side wanted to take advantage of the overcast conditions. They also had DLS in the back of their minds when making the decision.

The men in red and green made just one change from the first T20. Mustafizur Rahman, who took three wickets in four matches of the tour so far, was dropped in fabour of Taskin. 

Bangladesh: 1 Liton Das (wk), 2 Mohammad Naim, 3 Soumya Sarkar, 4 Mohammad Mithun, 5 Mahmudullah (capt), 6 Afif Hossain, 7 Mohammad Saifuddin, 8 Mahedi Hasan, 9 Nasum Ahmed, 10 Shoriful Islam, 11 Taskin Ahmed

New Zealand, too, went in with one change. A like-for-like replacement as Adam Milne came in for Lockie Ferguson. 

New Zealand: 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Finn Allen, 3 Devon Conway (wk), 4 Will Young, 5 Glenn Phillips, 6 Mark Chapman, 7 Daryl Mitchell, 8 Tim Southee (capt), 9 Ish Sodhi, 10 Hamish Bennett, 11 Adam Milne