Bangladesh 'A' Off to a Flying Start Against New Zealand 'A' in Sylhet

Bangladesh 'A' made a sensational start in the opening unofficial ODI of the series against New Zealand 'A' in Sylhet. Winning the toss and opting to bowl, the hosts rattled the visitors by removing their top four batters for just 13 runs.

Pacer duo Shoriful Islam and Khaled Ahmed led the early destruction, dismantling New Zealand's top order with precision and pace. The visitors were left reeling at 6 for 3, then quickly collapsed further to 13 for 4.

Shoriful Islam struck early, removing Kiwi opener Dale Phillips for a duck. Khaled Ahmed followed up with two quick wickets in the same over—Matt Boyle was trapped LBW for zero, followed by Mohammad Abbas, who fell to Khaled’s next delivery.

The damage continued when New Zealand 'A' captain Nick Kelly was bowled for a duck by a beautiful delivery from Shoriful. At that point, the visitors were in deep trouble, having lost four wickets within just 13 runs.

However, some resistance came from opener Rhys Mariu, who steadied the innings slightly and helped push the score forward after the collapse.