Ariful, Sabbir shine as Bangladesh HP return to winning ways against New Zealand A

Bangladesh High Performance (HP) team returned to winning ways and moved to the top of the table in the Top End T20 Series with a 23-run victory over New Zealand A at Darwin’s Marrara Cricket Ground on Thursday.

Bouncing back from Tuesday’s defeat to Adelaide Strikers Academy, Ariful Islam and Sabbir Rahman starred with the bat, hitting half-centuries to secure victory.

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Sent in to bat, Bangladesh HP suffered an early setback when opener Jishan Alam was trapped leg-before for a duck in the very first over. Ariful and Habibur Rahman Sohan then steadied the innings with a 47-run partnership. The recovery was briefly halted when Sohan, who made 26 off 21 balls, fell to Josh Clarkson just after the Powerplay, followed by skipper Irfan Shukkur’s departure for three off four balls in the next over.

However, with Bangladesh HP reaching 83-3 at the halfway mark, Ariful and Sabbir shifted gears from the 10th over onwards, forging a blistering 91-run stand off just 53 deliveries to revitalise the innings. Ariful, who had scored a sluggish half-century in the previous match, smashed 71 off 48 balls, while Sabbir struck an unbeaten 62 off 36, laced with six boundaries and two sixes, to propel Bangladesh to 181-5 in their 20 overs.

Defending the total, left-arm spinner Rakibul Hasan and pacer Ripon Mondol claimed three wickets apiece to derail New Zealand A’s chase. Ripon removed Katene Clarke, who had threatened with a 10-ball 24. Rakibul then took control, striking in the ninth and 13th overs to dismiss Matthew Boyle (31 off 22) and Bevon Jacobs (8 off 11). Max Chu, who had been holding the innings together with a 33-ball 43, also fell to Rakibul in that pivotal 13th over.

Ripon finished with impressive figures of 3-27 from three overs, while Rakibul returned an economical 3-23 from his four. In-form off-spinner Mohammad Rubel and all-rounder Abdul Gaffar Saqlain chipped in with a wicket apiece as Bangladesh restricted New Zealand A to 158-8 in 20 overs.

The victory propelled Bangladesh HP to the top of the standings, level with Victoria CA XI, with four wins from five matches.