Bangladesh A beaten in series by New Zealand A

The fourth day brought the best weather of the match, but even then, less than 60 overs of play were possible. With no realistic chance of a result, both teams—New Zealand ‘A’ and Bangladesh ‘A’—shook hands for a draw nearly two hours before the scheduled close under a bright Mirpur sun.

Due to constant weather interruptions, the match never got the momentum it needed. Across four days, not even three full innings were completed, and only 22 wickets fell in total.

Bangladesh off-spinner Nayeem Hasan tried to make the most of the final day, picking up four wickets. However, he couldn’t stop the visitors from taking a first-innings lead. Bangladesh then came out to bat again, facing less than one session.

With the second unofficial Test at Mirpur’s Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium ending in a draw, New Zealand ‘A’ secured the series 1–0, having pulled off a dramatic win in the first game in Sylhet.

Earlier, Bangladesh had won the one-day series 2–1 before heading into this two-match four-day affair.

In the drawn match, Bangladesh posted 357 in their first innings. New Zealand replied with 379, helped by Nick Kelly’s century and three other fifties—though this came after nearly three and a half days of play had passed.

Bangladesh batted 24 overs in their second innings, reaching 87 for 2 before the captains called it.

Across the series, Nurul Hasan Sohan was the only Bangladesh batter to score a century. He had also done so in the one-dayers. Mohammad Naim Sheikh came close in this match but missed out. Saif Hassan, Amit Hasan, Zakir Hasan, and Mahidul Islam each contributed a fifty-plus knock in the series.

Among the bowlers, Nayeem picked up four wickets in each match. Syed Khaled Ahmed had a six-wicket haul in the first Test, and Hasan Murad claimed five in an innings in the same game. But none of the bowlers managed consistent form throughout.

New Zealand resumed the final day on 277/4 and added 102 more runs before being bowled out.

The first big blow came when Matt Boyle was run out by a direct throw from Sohan. Boyle had scored 58 off 99 balls with 7 fours and a six. Then Nick Kelly, who was part of a 123-run fifth-wicket stand, went on to notch up another century—his second in back-to-back matches. He scored 103 off 164 balls, hitting 7 boundaries and 6 sixes.

After reaching his century, Kelly attempted a big shot off Nayeem and was caught at long-off.

In the next over, Nayeem stumped Mitch Hay, raising hopes for a Bangladesh lead. But Dean Foxcroft and Jaden Lennox chipped in with small but useful knocks to take New Zealand ahead.

Outside of Nayeem’s four wickets, Khaled also claimed three scalps.

Chasing the deficit, Bangladesh made a positive start with Enamul Haque hitting some attractive shots. But, much like his previous innings, the experienced batter gave away his wicket after scoring 24 off 23 balls with 3 fours and a six.

Despite being a prolific scorer in domestic cricket, Enamul finished the seven innings (ODIs and four-day matches combined) without a single fifty, his highest being 48.

Coming in at No. 3, Saif Hassan also failed to deliver, falling for 16 off 30 balls. After that, Amit Hasan (21* off 36) and Zakir Hasan (24* off 55) made sure no further damage was done.

The Bangladesh ‘A’ side is expected to play another series later this year. If all goes to plan, they will travel to Australia in August for two four-day matches and six T20s. However, the BCB has yet to officially announce the tour.