New Zealand seal 3-0 finish with big win:
Fin Allen's excellent hitting powered New Zealand to a big total © Getty
Having picked up two wickets off successive deliveries in the opening over, Southee was on a hat-trick when he came on to bowl the ninth. Mosaddek managed to survive the first ball but he ended up becoming the NZ skipper's third scalp. Phillips wraps it up in the final over with the wicket of Nasum as Bangladesh are bowled out for 76 to lose by 65 runs. End of a disappointing series for the visitors, who go back home empty handed.
Milne, Ferguson amongst the wickets:
It has been a complete contrast to how New Zealand went about their innings. The procession of wickets continues as Milne has Shoriful bowled while Ferguson does the same to Taskin. Bangladesh are 65 for 8.
Bangladesh reeling in chase:
Afif Hossain's six off Astle in the sixth over does little to affect the bowler's figures, who accounts for Afif (stumped) and Mahedi (caught at deep midwicket) to finish with 4 for 13. Bangladesh are 53 for 6 after 6 overs.
Astle strikes:
Naim has to depart as he tries to go over the top but finds Chapman take a good catch at deep midwicket. He departs for 19, while Shanto follows in the same over, bowled after missing a pull. Bangladesh are 37 for 4 after 4.
Southee bags two:
Having struck two fours and a couple off, Sarkar gets a leading edge and Southee dives full length forward to take an excellent catch in the opening over. Liton Das, the Bangladesh skipper, departs the very next delivery as he's bowled while trying to come across and play a shot fine to the leg side. Mohammad Naim scores a couple of sixes off Adam Milne in the second over and then edges one, which falls short of Conway. Only eight runs conceded by Lockie Ferguson in the third over as Bangladesh finish the powerplay with only 31 on the board.
New Zealand finish with mammoth total:
Shoriful bags a wicket, getting Phillips caught at mid-off. But he fails to hold on to a catch off his own bowling when Allen mis-timed one, giving the batsman yet another lucky break. Shoriful finishes with 1 for 21, decent effort considering how much the other bowlers have gone for. Allen's innings finally comes to an end in the final over as he plays a scoop off Taskin and sees the substitute fielder Mehidy Hasan hold on to a good catch at fine leg running back. 10 off the over as New Zealand post a mammoth 141 for 4 in 10 overs.
Allen fifty powers New Zealand:
With a straight boundary off Rubel, Allen brings up a 18-ball fifty in only his second innings. Glenn Phillips also gets into the act, scoring two successive sixes off Rubel, whose two overs have yielded 33 runs. Mahedi concedes a four and a six off his second over to finish with figures of 1 for 34. New Zealand are 122 for 1 after eight overs.
Guptill blitz comes to an end:
Having watch Allen strike the big hits from the other end, Guptill gets into the act again to score two sixes and a four off Mahedi. He eventually finds the fielder at deep extra cover, ending an 85-run stand that came inside six overs. Allen scores a four and takes a single to finish off the over which yields 21 runs. New Zealand are 90 for 1 after six.
Fifty up for New Zealand:
A reprieve for Allen as he's put down by Rubel Hossain in the deep to deny Shoriful a wicket in the fourth over. Allen then brings up New Zealand's fifty with a shot straight back over the bowler's head for a four, followed by another boundary over extra cover. To add to the Shoriful's disappointment, another catch is put down in the same over. Rubel has an expensive outing too, with Allen playing the scoop shot for a four and a fierce cut for a six. 14 off the over as New Zealand move to 69 for 0 after 5.
Fiery start:
Having struck a six off a short ball from Nasum Ahmed in the opening over, Guptill goes across the line to a Taskin delivery for a 95-metre six, followed by a straight six. Fin Allen gets going with three successive fours off Nasum and then goes straight for a six. 43 off the three-over powerplay puts New Zealand in command.
Pitch report:
"The pitch is a little bit greasy because of all the rain, and the fast bowlers will get it to kiss off the surface. The outfield is soggy though. All in all, it's quite amazing that we are playing cricket. The pitch has been under covers for four days and the groundsmen have done a fantastic job," reckons Craig McMillan.
Toss and teams:
Liton Das, captaining Bangladesh, has won the toss and has decided to bowl. Two changes for New Zealand and three for Bangladesh.
New Zealand (Playing XI): Martin Guptill, Finn Allen, Devon Conway (wk), Will Young, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, Tim Southee (c), Adam Milne, Todd Astle, Lockie Ferguson
Bangladesh (Playing XI): Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mohammad Naim, Soumya Sarkar, Liton Das (c/wk), Afif Hossain, Mahedi Hasan, Mosaddek Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Rubel Hossain, Nasum Ahmed
Finally some good news:21:10 start, 10 overs per side, three overs of powerplay. A maximum of two overs per bowler.
Fingers crossed...
Covers back on: Unfortunately, the rain has gotten heavier and the covers are back on.
Update:In case you didn't already know, the toss has been delayed. But there is some positive news...
Update: It's has been raining this evening in Auckland, forcing the game between New Zealand Women and Australia Women to be called off after only 2.5 overs were bowled. More rain is forecast for tonight. Meanwhile, Liton Das will be captaining Bangladesh today, if the game takes place, as Mahmudullah is out due to a thigh injury.
Build-up:
Since they started touring New Zealand first in 2001, Bangladesh have suffered 31 straight losses against New Zealand at their home. They have one final chance in this series to create history. Can Bangladesh achieve it? Is there light at the end of the tunnel for them?
New Zealand, since the 0-5 T20I series loss to India early last year, have won all their T20I series' at home and will look to cap off their season with another trophy in the bag.