New Zealand level T20 series with Bangladesh

Bevon Jacobs struck a scintillating maiden half-century as New Zealand recovered from a shaky start to beat Bangladesh by six wickets in a rain-hit third T20 International, leveling the three-match series 1-1.

Chasing a revised target of 103 in a 15-over contest at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur today, New Zealand were in early trouble at 25-3 after pacer Shoriful Islam ripped through the top order, taking three wickets for just four runs in his first two overs.

Offspinner Mahedi Hasan added to the pressure by dismissing stand-in skipper Nick Kelly, reducing the visitors to 33-4.

Jacobs then turned the game on its head with a counter-attacking knock, smashing an unbeaten 62 off 31 balls, laced with five fours and three sixes, to guide New Zealand to 104-4 in 11.4 overs.

Bangladesh captain Liton Das persisted with Shoriful in search of another breakthrough, but Jacobs eased the pressure by striking him for consecutive boundaries. The pacer eventually finished with 3-15.

Jacobs reached his fifty off 29 balls, riding his luck when a chance at long-on was spilled by Shamim Patwari and carried over the boundary for six. He then sealed the win in style with a boundary and a six in quick succession.

Earlier, Bangladesh's innings was disrupted by rain after New Zealand opted to field first. The interruption lasted more than two hours, reducing the match to 15 overs per side.

Before the rain, Bangladesh had slipped to 50-3 in 6.4 overs, losing their first three wickets in the space of 14 balls. The hosts failed to recover after the restart, adopting an overly aggressive approach that backfired as they lost their last seven wickets for 39 runs in 35 balls to be bowled out for 102 in 14.2 overs.

Towhid Hridoy top-scored with 33, while Liton Das made 26 and Saif Hassan contributed 16 runs. No other batter reached double figures.

For New Zealand, Josh Clarkson starred with the ball, claiming a career-best 3-9 in two overs. Ben Sears and Nathan Smith picked up two wickets each to support the effort.

Leg-spinner Ish Sodhi returned figures of 1-22 and became New Zealand's leading T20I wicket-taker with 165 scalps, surpassing Tim Southee's previous record of 164.