Related Links : World Cup 2007 : Scorecard
Big hitting Jacob Oram shocked many people by deciding to figure in New Zealand’s warm-up game against Bangladesh at the Three Ws Oval in Bridgetown. Oram scored a brilliant 88 which steered his side out of trouble. But it was the Habibul Bashar led Bangladesh side that shocked everyone beating the Black Caps by two wickets! All rounder Mashrafe Mortaza was the hero for the Asian Nation as he struck two sixes in the last but one over of the match to end a successful chase of 227 for his side.
Stephen Fleming won the toss and elected to bat first only to find himself returning back to the pavilion for an 8-ball duck to leave his team at 13 for 2. The good efforts put in by seamers – Mashrafe Mortaza and left armer Syed Rasel soon saw the stronger opposition tottering at 75 for 6. Brendon McCullum at this stage got stuck into the rescue work with Jacob Oram who batted bravely despite having a broken finger. The pair added 105 runs which was instrumental in taking NZ to 226 before they got bowled out. Jacob Oram stood tall with 88 runs which had come in 107 balls with five fours and a six. McCullum had contributed 46. Mortaza had rich returns of 4 for 44 and young left arm spinner Abdur Razzak complemented with 4 for 26 in his 10 overs.
The start from Bangladesh was a worrying one for the Black Caps with 85 put on by the two openers – Javed Omar (45) and Tanim Iqbal (46). Daniel Vettori brought his team back into the game with a couple of wickets and Bangladesh were living on the edge with wickets going down. Eventually Mashrafe Mortaza clinched the game in BD’s favour with a sensational 14-ball 30 that included three sixes. Bangladesh got to the target with just six balls to spare! Daniel Vettori was unsuccessful in bowling his team to a win as he ended up with 3 for 38 in his 10 overs. James Franklin and Shane Bond were taken to the cleaners by the Bangladeshis.