Bangladesh took a huge step towards qualifying for the 2019 World Cup with a five-wicket victory over New Zealand in the tri-series final on Wednesday.
The win at Clontarf promoted Bangladesh to sixth place, above Sri Lanka in the standings, with just four months to go before the cut-off date of September 30 when the top eight are guaranteed automatic qualification for the finals in England.
An unbroken stand of 72 between Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah saw the Tigers to their victory target of 271 with 10 balls to spare.
Man-of-the-Match Mushfiqur finished 45 not out at exactly a run a ball but the partnership was dominated by a superb innings from Mahmudullah who scored his 3,000th run in his 36-ball 46, with six fours and a six.
Bangladesh had restricted the Black Caps to 270 for eight, with just 62 coming from the last 12 overs as five wickets fell.
Bangladesh won in spite of a desperately poor fielding performance which saw four dropped catches.
