Batters couldn't take it deep: Shanto 

Bangladesh skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto underlined the obvious shortcoming in the Tigers' batting effort following their 17-run defeat (DLS method) in the third and final T20I of the three-match series at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui on Sunday.  

A sorry batting effort by the Tigers saw them get bundled out for 110, the lowest T20I total ever at the venue, after being put into bat first. The visitors also became the first team to lose at the ground having batted first. 

As many as four batters in the top five got starts on the day but none could actually deliver an innings of substance that could potentially give Bangladesh a platform for a better score befitting the size of the totals that are usually seen at this particular ground. 

"Our bowlers did a great job but the batters did not get runs today," Shanto said in the post-match interview. "All the bowlers bowled really well. In T20s, the start is very important. We got starts today but we could not take the game deep - that is the mistake we made." 

The skipper himself was guilty of what he pointed out as the 'mistake' they made as he perished in a rather tamed dismissal by trying to further up the ante. He put away four boundaries and looked good for his 15-ball 17 but threw his hands at one of Adam Milne's fuller deliveries, giving himself plenty of room, and failed to get elevation or the gap to get past Finn Allen at point. 

Middle-order batters Towhid Hridoy and Afif Hossain struggled for most of their runs and conceded soft dismissals. Hridoy, who had a stifling experience in the middle, produced a lacklustre 18-ball 16 that saw two boundaries being hit, while Afif never looked like easing into a position to help Bangladesh toward a decent total and was put out of his misery for a 13-ball 14.

It was the bowlers who managed to make a contest out of a potentially one-sided affair. Two wickets a piece from off-spinner Mahedi Hasan and pacer Shoriful Islam helped reduce the hosts to 49 for the loss of five in the ninth over. 

But New Zealand batters Jimmy Neesham and Mitchell Santner steadied the ship and took control of their 111-run target with a 46-run stand propelling the Black Caps to 95 for five after 14.4 overs before rain stopped play.

Neesham came out as the aggressor as he took Bangladesh skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto for 14 runs in the 10th over to ease the pressure and tilt the permutations in favour of the hosts as his unbeaten 20-ball 28 put New Zealand ahead in DLS calculations.

Santner delivered able support with the bat with his unbeaten 20-ball 18.