Middle-order batter Towhid Hridoy's unbeaten 51 off 27 balls powers Bangladesh to a six-wicket victory over New Zealand at Bir Shrestha Shaheed Flight Lieutenant Matiur Rahman Stadium today, taking a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

Chasing 183, Bangladesh rode on Hridoy's calculated aggression to reach 183-4 in just 18 overs, negating New Zealand's competitive total of 182-6 built around an identical 51 from Dane Cleaver and Katene Clarke.

Hridoy remained unbeaten on 51 off 27 balls, hitting two fours and three sixes. He stitched together two crucial partnerships-57 runs with Parvez Hossain Emon for the fourth wicket and an unbroken 49 with Shamim Patwari for the fifth-to steer the side home comfortably.

Leg-spinner Ish Sodhi, the only member in New Zealand's squad for Bangladesh series from their World Cup campaign led the side's bowling effort with 2-40, helping reduce the hosts to 77-3 in the 11th over and briefly raising hopes of a comeback. 

However, Hridoy's counterattack, aided initially by Emon's brisk 28 off 14 balls and later by Patwari's unbeaten 31 off 13, brought the required rate under control.

Earlier, Clarke and Cleaver shared an 88-run stand for the second wicket after opener Tim Robinson was run out for a duck in the second over following Bangladesh captain Liton Das had New Zealand put into bat first.

Leg-spinner Rishad Hossain who was the stand out bowler for Bangladesh, claiming 2-32, removed both of the set batters in consecutive overs to stall the progress.

Bangladesh's pace trio of Shoriful Islam, Tanzim Hasan Sakib and debutant Ripon Mondol were initially wayward but pulled things back after the breakthrough. Tanzim dismissed Bevin Jacobs to leave the visitors under pressure.

Stand-in captain Nick Kelly, leading in the absence of injured Tom Latham, steadied the innings before a brief interruption due to bad light.

Following the break, Josh Clarkson provided late impetus with an unbeaten 27 off 14 balls to guide New Zealand to a challenging total. 

Despite the late surge, New Zealand's total proved insufficient as Hridoy's composed yet aggressive knock sealed a commanding win for Bangladesh.

MSH

Bangladeshi wicketkeeper-batter Mushfiqur Rahim is set to feature for Fortune Barishal in the forthcoming Bangladesh Premier League (BPL).

Mushfiqur had played for Sylhet Strikers in the last edition. His price was fixed at 80 lakhs in the players' draft according to the category. Which means he was in 'A' category.

The top category player will play along with other star players like Tamim Iqbal, Mahmudullah, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, and Khaled Ahmed in Fortune Barishal.

Neymar said he was relishing “new challenges and opportunities in new places” after he joined Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hilal from Paris Saint-Germain on a two-year deal Tuesday, becoming the latest big name lured to the oil-rich Gulf state.

The Brazil forward, 31, ends a six-year stay in the French capital and follows in the footsteps of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Sadio Mane in swapping Europe for the Middle East.

“I have achieved a lot in Europe and enjoyed special times, but I have always wanted to be a global player and test myself with new challenges and opportunities in new places,” Neymar said in a statement from the Saudi Pro League.

“I want to write new sporting history, and the Saudi Pro League has tremendous energy and quality players at the moment,” he added.

Neymar was “in negotiations” on Sunday to become the latest football superstar to decamp for Saudi Arabia, leaving Paris Saint-Germain just as Kylian Mbappe was brought back in from the cold by the French champions.

A source close to PSG told AFP that 31-year-old Neymar “no longer figures in the club or manager’s plans” with the Brazilian immediately linked to Al-Hilal in the Gulf kingdom.

Another source in Saudi Arabia said that “direct negotiations” between Neymar’s agents and the Public Investment Fund (PIF) were ongoing.