My skipper told me to back my strengths, dry the runs up and that's what I did: Nasum

Bangladesh recorded their third consecutive series win in T20Is by beating New Zealand by five wickets in the fourth T20I of the five-match series at the Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur.

Bangladesh took an unassailable 3-1 lead with one match to go and moved up to number six in the ICC T20I rankings. 

New Zealand captain Latham, at the toss, said that his side would look to post a competitive total on the board and try to defend it later. The plan was successful in the previous match but not this time around. The visitors didn't score enough runs in the first innings, 93 to be precise. The pitch offered a great deal of assistance to the spinners. Nasum Ahmed, the left-arm spinner, registered his career-best bowling figures (4-2-10-4). 

"My skipper told me to back my strengths, dry the runs and that's what I did. The pitch offered turn, so I didn't worry about variations, just stuck to the basics," Nasum said while receiving the player-of-the-match award. 

Mustafizur Rahman used his variations to great effect and picked up a four-wicket haul too. 

Mohammad Naim scored 29 off 35 at the top of the order and his innings was a very significant one in the context of the game. However, the form of Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim has been a worrying sign for Bangladesh as none of them could make a significant contribution thus far in the series. 

Mahmudullah came to Bangladesh's rescue once again in this match. He played a match-winning knock of 43 off 48 balls and his six in the first ball of the penultimate over took the game completely away from New Zealand. It was a tricky chase on a difficult wicket but the Bangladesh skipper stayed till the end and got the hosts over the line. 

"I think the bowlers did a great job once again, keeping them to a low total. It was a good total to chase. Credit to all the bowlers, especially Nasum and Mustafizur," Mahmudullah said in the post-match presentation.

"The batters tried their hearts out. We just needed a good partnership in the middle. I and (Mohammad) Naim did that. Afif (Hossain) also got himself in. The plan was to just work in small partnerships and take it deep. Credit to the team management and the boys. The hunger was there to win the game and seal the series today.One more opportunity to win a game for Bangladesh, work on areas to improve and perform better," he added.

For New Zealand, Will Young was the lone fighter with the bat, scoring a well-made 46 off 48. Young scored half of the total runs scored by the Black Caps. New Zealand captain Latham lauded his effort and said that they were some 15-20 runs short. "We were probably a bit under-par. We were looking at around the 110 mark but ended up a bit light. Credit to how Bangladesh batted," said Latham.

New Zealand did well to take the game to the last over. Ajaz Patel bowled a magnificent spell and gave away only nine runs and picked up two. Rachin Ravindra conceded only eight runs in his four overs despite not getting a wicket. "We got early wickets but they had it under control. We spoke that if we bowled well, it could be a competitive score. They had a couple of partnerships and Mahmudullah finished it off for them. Getting it to the last over is a positive. Young played a good innings. He stuck out there and managed to get us to a competitive score but it wasn't quite enough," said Latham.

The fifth and final match of the series will be held on September 10.