New Zealand Down Bangladesh In Second ODI Despite Soumya Sarkar's Superb Innings

Henry Nicholls fell agonisingly short of a century on Wednesday as New Zealand eased to a seven-wicket win and sealed victory in their ODI series against Bangladesh. A superb 169 off 151 balls from opener Soumya Sarkar was not enough to end Bangladesh's miserable ODI streak in New Zealand, where they have now lost all of their 18 previous 50-over matches against the Black Caps. "The way the openers set the innings up was outstanding," said New Zealand captain Tom Latham. 

"We also had two good partnerships to put us in a good position. It was very clinical," he added.

In a strong batting display by the hosts, Nicholls and Will Young hammered 128 for the second wicket. Latham and Nicholls then teamed up to grab 56 more for the third as New Zealand's batters dominated. 

The win in Nelson gives New Zealand an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series after their 44-run win in the first game on Sunday. The third and final ODI will be played in Napier on Saturday.

Sarkar's boundary-heavy innings took the visitors to a respectable 291 all out. But Nicholls led a strong Black Caps reply with 95 off 99 balls, steering the hosts to a comfortable victory.

Sarkar misses record

It was a superb innings by Sarkar who bounced back from a duck last Sunday to smash 22 fours and two sixes. He was just short of the Bangladesh ODI batting record of 176 scored by Litton Das against Zimbabwe in March 2020.

Sarkar hit out during a 91-run fifth-wicket partnership with veteran batter Mushfiqur Rahim. He finally departed in the 49th over when seamer William O'Rourke had him caught behind, the first of three wickets the New Zealand bowler took in the final six balls.

In response, New Zealand's openers raced to 76-1 after ten overs before Bangladesh