Tamim rues two dropped catches

Bangladesh ODI skipper Tamim Iqbal rued the two dropped catches which ultimately saw the Tigers lose control of the game and suffer a five-wicket defeat at the hands of New Zealand in their second ODI at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch today. 

The defeat also meant the Kiwis won the three-match ODI series with a game in hand and extended their home streak over Bangladesh across formats to 28-0. 

"We never got a better opportunity than this. We should have won the game. Chances like this don't come often, especially while playing overseas," said a dejected Tamim through a video message after the game. 

Defending a commendable total of 271 for six, the Tigers had reduced the hosts to 53 for three in 10.5 overs. A brilliant piece of fielding from Tamim, a direct hit at the bowler's end, in the 34th over saw a promising 113-run fourth-wicket stand between Devon Conway and Tom Latham come to an end and that brought Bangladesh back into the game once again. 

However, an over later, Mushfiqur Rahim failed to grab on to a regulation catch after pacer Taskin Ahmed had induced an edge off the bat of James Neesham on 3. And again, in the very next over, off-spinner Mahedi Hasan's fumble off his own delivery saw the eventual centurion and match-winner Latham breathe a sigh of relief on 58.  

"The wicket was a bit slow but the way we batted and scored 271, which was a very good total, plus the way we started and took three of their wickets for 50 runs....we had the game in our control. But then we missed those two chances. Had we grabbed on to those catches, I think we would have won the game. There is no other thought except that we should have won the match. I am very disappointed that we could not make this opportunity count," added Tamim.