New Zealand defeated Bangladesh by 8 wickets at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, recording their third consecutive win in the ongoing ICC World Cup 2023.
Captain Kane Williamson, who marked his return to ODI cricket after a long hiatus following a knee surgery, scored an unbeaten 78 runs and helped his side to victory and to the top of the points table.
However, William retired in the 39th over after a ball hit his thumb while he was crossing the wicket in the previous over.
Despite a rough start after the Kiwis lost their opener Rachin Ravindra towards the start of the innings, they managed to pull through with Devon Conway scoring 45 runs and Daryl Mitchell adding 89 runs off 67 balls.
Earlier, Bangladesh was also met with early blows as they lost four batter for just 56 runs in 12.1 overs. However, a strong 96-run partnership between Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib provided a much-needed boost to the team.
Mushfiqur Rahim scored 66 runs, while Shakib added 40 runs to the total.
Mahmudullah followed after these experienced batters and provided much-needed runs taking his team to a competitive 245 runs.
