Bangladesh will continue to wait for their maiden One Day International victory on Kiwi soil, after being handed a 44-run thumping by the Blackcaps in Dunedin.
The Blackcaps had never lost an ODI at University Oval heading into Sunday's series opener, and that record never looked in danger against the Tigers, as New Zealand accrued 239/7 before restricting Bangladesh to 200/9 in reply.
In a shortened 30-over-a-side encounter thanks to persistent rain, the weather was a greater threat to a New Zealand win than the tourists, despite a weakened Blackcaps outfit with several key players rested.
Trying to play his way back into the first XI after losing his place to Rachin Ravindra during the Cricket World Cup, Will Young led the way for the Blackcaps with 105 of New Zealand's 239/7, as he and stand-in captain Tom Latham (92) added 171 for the third wicket.
With the ball, the Blackcaps shared the wickets, with debutants Josh Clarkson (2/24) and Will O'Rourke (1/35) snaring their maiden international scalps.
The result means Bangladesh's ODI record in New Zealand reads 17 defeats from 17 games played, a record they'll now have to wait until Wednesday at the earliest to amend.
After losing the toss and being asked to bat first under grey skies, the Blackcaps were reduced to 5/2 early, as the pair of Ravindra and Henry Nicholls fell for ducks to the bowling of Shoriful Islam (2/28).
But either side of another rain delay, Latham and Young got the New Zealand innings back on track, and raised their century partnership in 109 balls after seeing off the new ball threat.
Captaining in place of Kane Williamson, Latham passed 50 in 58 balls, with six boundaries with the final ball before another rain delay. But once the players returned, and the contest was shortened to 30 overs, Latham and Young upped the impetus to set a defendable total.
Young reached his half-century, taking 61 balls with six boundaries and two sixes as the partnership passed 150. Latham moved into the 90s with a slog-sweep six over midwicket, as Bangladesh made the mistake of bowling their spinners at the death.
But with a century in sight, Latham dragged Mehidy Hasan Miraz onto his stumps for 92 off just 77 balls, as the Blackcaps promoted Mark Chapman to No.5 in the hunt for quick runs.
And that's exactly what Chapman brought, hitting two sixes in his first eight balls to take the score over 200.
At the other end, Young moved from 72 to 89 in the space of one over, hitting four boundaries from the bowling of Soumya Sarkar, as his and Chapman raised a 50-run stand in just 21 balls.
With Young on 99 and looking to steal a single to take him to three figures, Chapman was run out for 20, but Bangladesh couldn't prevent the inevitable. One ball later, Young moved to his third ODI century, going from 50 to 100 in just 21 balls, before he fell for 105 balls in the final over.
Tom Blundell came and went for two as he was selflessly run out, as was debutant Josh Clarkson, as New Zealand reached 239/7 from their 50 overs.
From resuming at 108/2 after 19.2 overs, the Blackcaps hit the final 64 balls for 131 runs, and saw Pakistan set an adjusted target of 245.
In response, Adam Milne removed Soumya Sarkar – ending a torrid day for the Bangladesh opener, in which he scored no runs, conceded 63 runs in six overs with the ball, and dropped Latham before he'd reached 20.
Opening partner Anamul Haque was given a life on eight, when Blundell failed to hang onto the catch from a top edged pull shot that saw the Blackcaps wicketkeeper make impressive ground running towards fine leg.
But having to score at more than eight runs per over, the pressure began to tell on the Bangladesh batting order.
Captain Najmul Hossain Shanto lost his stumps for 15 trying to reverse-sweep Ish Sodhi, while Haque's knock came to an end on 43, when was caught and bowled to give Clarkson his first international wicket at 80/3.
Clarkson had a second in his next over, when he bounced out Litton Das for 22, caught off the gloves by Blundell, as Bangladesh crept to 96/4 at the halfway stage.
Mushfiqur Rahim became the second Bangladesh batter to fall reverse-sweeping, when he gloved Ravindra behind to Blundell at 103/5.
A quickfire 50-partnership between Hridoy and Afif Hossain in just 31 balls threatened to see Bangladesh fight back into the match, until Sodhi returned to end the danger.
Firstly, Hossain survived an LBW review, only to see his partner perish when Hridoy holed out to Milne at deep backward square leg, out for 33 at 159/6 to break the partnership for 56 from 38.
Afif continued as Bangladesh's last hope, but he too departed at the wrong time, mistiming a pull shot to Young, and gave Jacob Duffy his first international wicket on his home ground.
Milne was denied a second wicket when Shoriful was caught at fine leg by Ravindra, after reaching the limit of short balls allowed in one over, but got his man three balls later as Young held on to a spectacular catch on the leg-side boundary.
Once Hasan Mahmud missed a Duffy bouncer in the 29th over, Bangladesh needed more than six runs per ball to snatch a win, and mathematically declared New Zealand the winners.
O'Rourke had the final say on debut, bowling Hasan Mahmud with the final ball of the game to finish with his first wicket.
The Blackcaps can seal the series in Nelson on Wednesday, before concluding in Napier on December 23.
New Zealand 239/7 (Young 105, Latham 92; Shoriful 2/28)
Bangladesh 200/9 (Anamul 43; Clarkson 2/24)
New Zealand win by 44 runs (DLS method)
