NZ's Bevon Jacobs shines vs Bangladesh, hammers maiden T20I fifty
What's the story
Bevon Jacobs played a blistering innings of 62* off just 31 balls, helping New Zealand level the T20I series against Bangladesh. The third and final T20I was held at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur on Saturday. With this win, the three-match series ended in a 1-1 draw after the second match was washed out due to rain. Notably, the third T20I was also shortened by rain.
Match turnaround
New Zealand's chase gets off to a shaky start
In a revised 15-over match, New Zealand started their chase on a shaky note. They needed 103 runs for victory. Shoriful Islam's fiery opening spell saw him dismissing Katene Clarke (1) and Dane Cleaver (1) in his first over. He returned in the second over to bowl Tim Robinson who was looking good at 23 off 14 balls. Off-spinner Mahedi Hasan then dismissed stand-in captain Nick Kelly, leaving New Zealand reeling at 33-4 with the required run rate skyrocketing.
Match recovery
Jacobs, Foxcroft guide visitors to historic win
Despite the early setbacks, Jacobs and Dean Foxcroft steadied the ship with an unbeaten 71-run partnership off just 40 balls. Jacobs took on the bowlers in the final overs and finished the game with a six. His brilliance meant NZ (104/4) prevailed in just 11.4 overs. He returned unbeaten on 62, while Foxcroft provided steady support with an unbeaten 15 off 15 balls. This was Jacobs's maiden fifty in T20Is.
Stats
Jacobs completes 50 T20 caps
Jacobs made an unbeaten 62* off 31 balls, a knock laced with five fours and three sixes. As per ESPNcricinfo, the 23-year-old's maiden T20I fifty took him to 183 runs from 11 games at 26.14 (SR: 142.96). Meanwhile, this game also marked Jacob's 50th T20 match. Having scored his eighth fifty in the format, the batter now has 1,104 runs at 33-plus. His strike rate is over 145.