Siddique leads Bangladesh to rare win
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Half-centuries from Junaid Siddique and captain Mohammad Ashraful have guided Bangladesh to its first win over New Zealand in a one-day international in Dhaka.
Chasing 202 for victory, Bangladesh reached its target in the 46th over with seven wickets in hand. Ashraful finished unbeaten on 60.
Opener Siddique was named man of the match after piling up 85 runs in a patient innings which lasted until the 44th over.
His 137-ball knock included eight boundaries before he was caught at backward point by Jacob Oram off Mark Gillespie.
After opener Tamim Iqbal (12) and Mushfiqur Rahim (30) were dismissed as Bangladesh reached 2 for 85, Siddique and Ashraful joined forces to frustrate the tourists.
While Siddique was happy to stand firm and look for openings to add to his score with singles, Ashraful smashed the ball around to notch up his 15th ODI half-century.
Ashraful hit five fours and a six in his 56-ball innings. The pair's 109-run third-wicket partnership put the hosts on course for a rare victory.
"We could implement our game plan and all had a good performance today to post the much-cherished win against a big team," Ashraful said.
Earlier Bangladesh's paceman Mashrafe Mortaza and left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak led a potent home attack that ripped through the New Zealand order to restrict it to 9 for 201 in 50 overs.
-Reuters
