Welcome to IBTimes Singapore's coverage of the first T20I between New Zealand and Bangladesh in Napier.
Updates
New Zealand came up with an all-round effort in Napier. Bangladesh were once again let down by their batsmen, who have failed for the fourth time in the series. Not a good start to 2017 for the visitors.
Debutants Lockie Ferguson and Ben Wheeler were on fire and picked up five wickets between them as Bangladesh were restricted to 141. Mahmudullah scored 52 but found no support from the other end.
Bangladesh had their moments in the second innings but an 81-run stand between Williamson and Grandhomme did the job for New Zealand.
That is it from us for today. Join us back on 6 January, Friday for the second T20I between these two teams.
New Zealand innings
5:08pm SGT: Colin de Grandhomme was in a hurry since the time he came in. He finishes the match in style with a big hit as New Zealand beat Bangladesh by six wickets and 12 ball to spare.
A 81-run stand between De Grandhomme (41 off 22) and Williamson (73 off 55) has sealed it for the hosts. New Zealand go 1-0 up in the three match series.
Rubel to continue.
Mustafizur finishes with 4-0-21-1. A couple more wickets would have swung the match in Bangladesh's favour.
5:04pm SGT: Five runs from Mustafizur's final over. New Zealand are a couple of sixes away from going 1-0 up in the three-match series. NZ 130/4 in 17 overs.
5pm SGT: That over from Sarkar was Mortaza's New Year gift for Bangladesh. Why introduce a part-timer now? 17 runs were scored off that over. Williamson and Grandhome have stiched in 63 so far. New Zealand just need 17 from 24 now. NZ 125/4 in 16 overs.
And Mashrafe brings in part-timer Soumya Sarkar into the attack. Not the right time to gamble, Mr. Captain!
Williamson is on 60 now and the partnership is nearing a 50. Bangladesh need to do something special and soon to stay alive.
4:54pm SGT: De Grandhome has come in and swung back the momentum in favour of his team. He struck Rubel for a six off the first ball of the 15th over after which the Bangladesh pacer lost control and gave away 15 runs. Big over this as it has completely eased the pressure of New Zealand. NZ 108/4 in 15 overs.
Rubel to continue
4:50pm SGT: Williamson now makes Bangladesh pay for their mistake with a six off Shakib's last ball, brings up his 50 as well. Expensive over that, 12 came off it. NZ 93/4 in 14 overs.
4:46pm SGT: Four! Williamson hits one to the midwicket fence. It was pitched short and was hit in the air. Could have been an easy catch for the deep midwicket fielder if he had stayed near the rope but for some strange reason he was about five metres from the rope. Wasted opportunity. Is this going to cost Bangladesh?
Shakib Al Hasan into the attack.
4:44pm SGT: Mustafizur is not coneding much here. Bowling to plan with a tight line. Five runs came off his last over. Bangladesh have been disciplined and have not coneded many boundaries. NZ 81/4 in 13 overs.
4:40pm SGT: Good stuff from Mosaddek. Tight, five-run over at this stage. New Zealand need to score at 8.25 an over and new man Colin de Grandhome has already hit a six, in his very first over. NZ 76/4 in 12 overs.
Are New Zealand in trouble. Not much as they still have Williamson in the middle and a target that is not too steep for them at this stage. NZ 71/4 in 11 overs.
4:33pm SGT: OUT! Bangladesh have one more as debutant Tom Bruce is run out for 1. Williamson slipped on the field and sent back Bruce, who fell short at the non-striker's end before being able to complete the second run. NZ 62/4 in 10.1 overs.
4:31pm SGT: Bangladesh are slipping in some tidy overs here. Only 14 runs came off the last three overs and Mosaddek has opened his spell with an economical one. NZ 61/3 in 10 overs.
Time for some off-spin. Mosaddek Hossain into the attack for the first time in the day.
4:29pm SGT: Another good over from Shakib. He has completed three overs and has conceded only 18 runs. Kane Williamson, who is batting on 32 from 26, is looking solid at one end for the hosts. NZ 58/3 in 9 overs.
4:24pm SGT: Tight over from the captain, just 4 runs came off it. However, New Zealand still need to score at only little more than 7 runs an over, which is quite easy given their batting depth. NZ 51/3 in 8 overs.
Debutant Tom Bruce joins the skipper in the middle. Mortaza brings himself back into the attack. Can the visitors get a couple more and put pressure on New Zealand here?
4:19pm SGT: OUT! Shakib removes dangerous Anderson for 13 (14 balls). The bowler invited the left-hander to hit in the air by bowling wide and loopy and Anderson hit one straight down the throat of long on fielder. NZ 46/3 in 6.3 overs.
Shakib Al Hasan brought back after the powerplay overs.
4:16pm SGT: End of the powerplay in Napier. New Zealand lost Colin Munro and Neil Broom in the first six overs. Mustafizur Rahman is looking good for Bangladesh. NZ 43/2 in 6 overs.
4:10pm SGT: Good over from Rubel, just gave away four runs. A couple of wickets has tightened things up. One more over to go in the powerplay. NZ 34/2 in 5 overs.
Rubel continues.
Mustafizur is doing exactly what he is known for - putting the breaks and picking up wickets. Only 2 runs came off his first over. Bangladesh need more from him if they are defend 142 against New Zealand today. Corey Anderson joins skipper Williamson.
4:02pm SGT: OUT! The ICC Emerging Player of 2016 works his magic straightaway, removes Colin Munro for 0. Good length and line from Mustafizur as he drew the batsmen foward before the latter edged one to the keeper. NZ 28/2 in 3.2 overs.
Mustafizur Rahman into the attack for Bangladesh now.
3:58pm SGT: Rubel exactly does that, removes Neil Broom for 6 (7 balls) to draw first blood. Brilliant catch in the deep from Shakib Al Hasan. NZ 22/1 in 2.3 overs.
3:54pm SGT: Motaza conceded a boundary of the first ball but pulled things back to give away only seven runs off the over. Bangladesh need early wickets and Rubel Hossain has been given the task to find one here.
Mashrafe Mortaza to continue
3:50pm SGT: 8 runs came off Shakib's first over as Williamson found the fence once. New Zealand need seven runs an over and the first T20I here is their's to lose. NZ 8/0 in 1 over.
3:47pm SGT: Shakib Al Hasan will open the attack for Bangladesh. Niel Broom and Kane Williamson are out in the middle at Napier, chasing 142.
Bangladesh innings
New Zealand had a couple of brilliant performances on debut. Lockie Ferguson took three and Ben Wheeler scalped two and Williamson will be happy with his bowlers. 142 should be tough for the number one-ranked T20 side.
Bangladesh once again lost a lot of wickets in regular intervals. Mahmudullah found no support from the other end. Shakib and Mosaddek played handy knocks but the visitors were never able to get big overs.
3:32pm SGT: Bangladesh finish with 141 runs on the board. Lockie Ferguson picked up third wicket in the final over by going past the defense of Mahmudulah (52 off 47 balls) with a toe-crushing yorker as Bangladesh were able to add only 5 runs.
3:28pm SGT: Fifty for Mahmudullah! He begins the New Year on a high after series of failures in the ODI series. Important knock this from the middle-order batsman. Bangladesh are looking for 150 with an over left. Mahmudullah is on strike and Ferguson will bowl the last over. BAN 136/7 in 19 overs.
3:20pm SGT: OUT! Bangladesh lose another wicket to fultoss. This time, the victim is skipper Mashrafe Mortaza who intends to clear cover boundary but ends up scooping one to the cover fielder. Wheeler gets his second wicket on debut but an expensive over that from the youngster, who bowled three wides. BAN 123/7 in 18 overs.
3:15pm SGT: Mahmudullah has moved to 37 off 38 with a six and a boundary in Matt Henry's third over, in which 14 runs were scored. He is bringing out all his experience to take Bangladesh to a competitive total here. BAN 114/6 in 17 overs.
Mashrafe Mortaza walks in ahead of wicketkeeper-batsman Nurul Hossain.
3:09pm SGT: OUT! Mosaddek Hossain goes for 20 (17 balls). Mitchell Santner gets his first wicket of the match, the year to snap a 32-run stand. New Zealand are striking at regular intervals to keep the visitors at check. BAN 99/6 in 15.3 overs.
3:07pm SGT: Young Mosaddek is getting a move on and has scored a six off Ferguson as well. He has quickly reached 18 (14 balls) as Bangladesh near 100. BAN 97/5 in 15 overs.
3:01pm SGT: Six! Mosaddek gets a gift - a middle stump fulltoss - from Santner and he deposits into the midwicket stands. 9 runs came off that over. BAN 84/5 in 14 overs.
Santner to continue.
2:58pm SGT: 5 runs from Grandhome's last over. He finishes his spell with 4-0-23-1. Mahmudulah, batting on 21 from 26 balls, is the key here for the visitors. BAN 75/5 in 13 overs.
Mosaddek is a capable batsman. He needs to hand in there with Mahmudullah. They still have skipper Mashrafe and Nurul Hossain, both of whom can bat. Bangladesh cannot afford to lose one more anytime soon. On the other hand, it has been a great day for New Zealand debutants Ben Wheeler and Lockie Ferguson with the ball.
2:55pm SGT: Santner tightens things up after Shakib's departure. Two runs came off his second over. Mosaddek Hossain has joined Mahmudullah in the middle. BAN 70/5 in 12 overs.
2:50pm SGT: OUT! De Grandhome strikes. Shakib Al Hasan out for 14 off 14 balls after a miscued pull shot. A nice, little partnership snapped. BAN 67/5 in 10.4 overs
2:48pm SGT: Five runs of Santner's first over. Shakib is doing it nicely without taking many risks. BAN 65/4 at the halfway mark.
Spin for the first time in the day. Kane Williamson brings in left-arm slow bowler Mitchell Santner.
2:44pm SGT: Mahmudullah is getting a move on here. Charged De Grandhome and launched one into the stands in the ninth over. The partnership between him and Shakib has quickly escalated to 30 in just 22 balls. BAN 60/4 in 9 overs.
2:40pm SGT: 10 runs from Ferguson's over. Nothing much went wrong expect for a five wides he conceded in the over. BAN 48/4 in 8 overs.
Lockie Ferguson to continue..
2:35pm SGT: Colin de Grandhome bowls an economical first over. Four runs off it. BAN 38/4 in 7 overs.
Mahmudullah joins Shakib Al Hasan. The two experienced campaigners have to bail out Bangladesh from trouble here.
Brilliant first over in T20 internationals from Lockie Ferguson. Two big wickets - Sabbir Rahman and Soumya Sarkar. New Zealand are all over Bangladesh here. BAN 34/4 in 6 overs. That is the end of the powerplay as well.
2:27pm SGT: OUT! Two in two for Ferguson. What a dream debut this for the young pacer. Soumya Sarkar walks back for 0. His poor form continues. Brilliant ball from the bowler that knicked the bat's edge and flew to the gully. BAN 30/4 in 5.2 overs.
2:26pm SGT: OUT! Lockie Ferguson gets a wicket on the first ball of his T20I debut. He gets the big fish Sabbir Rahman as well with a fulltoss, which was mishit by the batsman. Bangladesh are going downhill here. Not a good start this. BAN 30/3 in 5.1 overs.
Shakib Al Hasan is the new man in..
2:23pm SGT: OUT! Another wicket for New Zealand. Ben Wheeler gets his maiden T20I wicket with a short one. Tamim Iqbal out for 11 from 13 balls. BAN 30/2 in 5 overs.
2:16pm SGT: Six! Sabbir launches one into the midwicket stands. Good stuff this from the right-hander and if he can manage to stay her until the half-way mark, Bangladesh would be in a solid position. 10 runs from the over. BAN 22/1 in 4 overs.
2:15pm SGT: Tight over from Wheeler. Only one run from it. Sabbir had a bit of trouble in putting the young bowler away. BAN 12/1 in 3 overs.
Wheeler continues..
2:10pm SGT: Sabbir Rahman is the new batsman and he is already spotting the ball well. Pulls one to the midwicket fence when Henry bowled it wide. BAN 11/1 in 2 overs.
2:08pm SGT: OUT! Henry strikes early for New Zealand. Bangladesh lose Imrul Kayes for 0. Not the ideal start Mashrafe Mortaza would have wanted. BAN 5/1 in 1.3 overs.
Four runs in the first over. Matt Henry to continue.
2pm SGT: Tamim Iqbal and Imrul Kayes out in the middle to open the batting for Bangladesh. Ben Wheeler has the new ball for New Zealand. The visitors need to get a good start here.
1:35pm SGT: Soumya Sarkar and Rubel Hossain are back in the team for Bangladesh. New Zealand have three debutants in the team. Pacer Lockie Ferguson also gets into the playing XI. Check out the teams here.
1:30pm SGT: Good news for Bangladesh! Skipper Mashrafe Mortaza wins toss and elects to bat first. Team news coming up soon.
1:15pm SGT: We are 15 minutes away from the toss in Napier. Bangladesh, who suffered a 3-0 whitewash in the ODI series, will want to begin the New Year on a high. However, even a solid performance from the visitors might not be enough to beat the number one-ranked T20I team, who will be looking to consolidate their position at the top of the ICC rankings.
1pm SGT: It is time for some T20I action in Napier. Hosts New Zealand will be without their star opener Martin Guptill and Neil Broom, who had a successful ODI comeback last month, will take his place.
Bangladesh also are without their first-choice wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim and Nurul Hasan is set to make his T20I debut today.
Here is our preview for the first T20I. Also, check out the where you can watch the match live on TV in your country.
Preview
Bangladesh were hammered during the last time these two teams met. At the ICC World Twenty20 in India, New Zealand posted 145/8 in their final group game and bowled out Bangladesh for meagre 70 as only three of the Tigers' batsmen got to double-digit scores.
This time around, Mashrafe Mortaza's men are playing away from home and are heading into the three-match T20 series after facing a whitewash in the recently-concluded ODI series. It will be a tough ask for the visitors to turn things around, especially in the shortest format of the game, in which New Zealand are the number one-ranked side.
The 10th-ranked Bangladesh unit have to play out of their skins to defeat Kane Williamson's men on the road. New Zealand showed glimpses of their T20 expertise in India when they defeated Virat Kohli's men in the World T20. Despite the absence of injured Martin Guptill, New Zealand have a strong batting attack spearheaded by the skipper himself. Niel Broom, who replaces the injured opener, has been in good form, scoring 228 runs in three ODIs, which includes a ton.
Corey Anderson also returns to the T20I squad after a brief injury layoff. Trent Boult will be rested for the Napier clash while Tim Southee has been given a break from the T20I series. In the absence of their premier quicks, Colin de Grandhomme and .Lockie Ferguson will look to step up and seal a permanent slot in the line-up.
Bangladesh need their batsmen to step up after inconsistent performances in the ODI series. Sabbir Rahman and Shakib Al Hasan can be dangerous with the bat while the latter is an asset with the ball. Also, the Tigers have Mustafizur Rahman, who has impressed with his variations and yorkers at the death. The young left-arm pacer is the trump card if their side is to stand a chance against the hosts in the three-match series.
TV Schedule
Bangladesh: BTV
New Zealand: Sky Sport 1
Pakistan: PTV Sports
Middle East: OSN Sports
UK: Sky Sports 2
Sri Lanka: TNL TV
US: Willow TV
