DUNEDIN – Ross Taylor became New Zealand's highest scoring one-day international batsman Wednesday as the Black Caps set Bangladesh an imposing 331 target to win the third one-dayer in Dunedin and avoid a series whitewash.
Taylor scored 69 off 81 balls as the Black Caps cruised to 330 for six after losing the toss and being sent in to bat, with Henry Nicholls and Tom Latham also making half centuries.
Mustafizur Rahman was the only Bangladesh bowler to take two wickets, but they came at a price as he conceded 93 runs from his 10 overs.
Taylor's 47th ODI half-century took his career tally in the 50-over format to 8,026 runs, overtaking Stephen Fleming's 8,007.
Trent Boult in on the action now as Mushfiqur skies one and is well caught by Munro. Bangladesh in trouble at 57-4, chasing 331 in Dunedin. #NZvBAN pic.twitter.com/XKoTC2TnBM
— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) February 20, 2019
The 34-year-old, who made his ODI debut in 2006, reached his milestone in 203 innings with a superb average of 48.34.
“I definitely would have taken that when I played my first match donkey's years ago,” he said. “If you play long enough I guess these records come along but it's nice to set the bar for the next guy.
“I'm still enjoying myself and hopefully I've still got a few years in me.”
Many of the Black Caps players went into the team's final ODI before the World Cup looking to impress coach Gary Stead and book a spot in the tournament.
Batsman Colin Munro's struggle for form continued as he was out lbw for eight, meaning he has only one half-century in eight ODIs.
Nicholls is set to take the opening batting spot off him after a sparkling 64, although Stead indicated Munro could make the trip as injury cover.
“Henry's shown he's a versatile player for us... he's a key component of our batting line-up,” Stread told Sky Sports.
Latham pressed his claim with a solid 59 while Colin de Grandhomme and Jimmy Neesham both scored 37 as they seek allrounder berths.