ICC Champions Trophy 2017, Bangladesh vs New Zealand: 5 Talking points

#4 Four bowlers gamble cost New Zealand the game

New Zealand missed a fifth bowler as Neesham and Anderson went for plenty

Both Mahmudullah and Shakib Al Hasan deserve lot of credit for their hundreds, no doubt about that. But, they were helped by some poor bowling from James Neesham and Corey Anderson, who tried their best to play the fifth bowler’s role. After surviving an impressive spell from Tim Southee, both the batsmen looked to attack the Kiwi all-rounders.

Mahmudullah, in particular, showed a lot of aggression against Neesham as he smashed him for quite a few boundaries. This forced Kane Williamson to bring himself into the attack to slip in few overs. But, Shakib took matters into his hands and scored few quick runs off him.

It was yet another example that you can’t win games with just four bowlers in the 50-over format. After India, this was New Zealand’s turn to learn this lesson the hard way.