Bangladesh Vs New Zealand, Match Preview
60 all-out and 62 for three in fifteen overs isn’t the best advertisement for T20 Cricket. The first T20 saw a very low-scoring game on a pitch that was tough to bat on. While the pitch wasn’t great, some attention should go to the batters as well. New Zealand’s batters, though inexperienced, struggled and were poor with the shot selection in the first T20. Many players were in Bangladesh for the first time, and they found it tough to cope with the spin.
The debutants in particular didn’t play the best shots but they had a good time with the ball on a slow surface. Rachin Ravindra, Cole McConchie and Ajaz Patel kept the run-rate down and managed to take the game into the fifteenth over. The experienced heads got out playing expansive shots which also indicates the quality of shot selection by the New Zealand batters.
Bangladesh on the other hand left of from their exploits against Australia. The batters adapted well on a slow-surface and the bowlers were pretty accurate. Mustafizur Rahman was brilliant with his cutters while Saifuddin, Shakib and Nasum kept the pressure on throughout the innings.
The top-order was a concern for Bangladesh but the middle-order helped steady the ship in a small chase.
Bangladesh Vs New Zealand, Team News
Finn Allen is back in the squad after testing negative for Covid-19, but his inclusion in the side is still unclear. With questions on his fitness after the illness, New Zealand may not want to rush him straight into the side and will probably look to wait for another T20.
Bangladesh is likely to go unchanged with their side well-balanced. The top-order is a concern but will likely be given a longer rope to find its rhythm ahead of the World Cup.
Bangladesh Vs New Zealand, Predicted XIs
New Zealand (probable): 1 Rachin Ravindra, 2 Tom Blundell/Finn Allen, 3 Will Young, 4 Colin de Grandhomme, 5 Tom Latham (capt & wk), 6 Henry Nicholls, 7 Cole McConchie, 8 Doug Bracewell, 9 Ajaz Patel, 10 Blair Tickner, 11 Jacob Duffy
Bangladesh (probable): 1 Mohammad Naim, 2 Liton Das, 3 Shakib Al Hasan, 4 Mushfiqur Rahim, 5 Mahmudullah (capt), 6 Nurul Hasan (wk), 7 Afif Hossain, 8 Mahedi Hasan, 9 Mohammad Saifuddin, 10 Mustafizur Rahman, 11 Nasum Ahmed
Bangladesh Vs New Zealand, Players to Watch out for
Colin De Grandhomme
De Grandhomme got out for one in the first T20 after going for a expansive slog sweep. His shot selection is questionable but his style of play is aggressive and he perished in the first T20 going for his shots. Nevertheless, De Grandhomme won’t be pleased with his performance and will be hoping to make amends in the upcoming game. With his slow and accurate bowling he could has the potential to make a strong impact on the slow and sluggish surfaces. His aggressive batting can also unsettle the spinners if he manages to pick the spinners and adjust to the slowness of the surface.
Mustafizur Rahman
Rahman continues to impress with his cutters on surfaces that are known to be helpful for spinners. On slow surfaces pacers normally take the new-ball, make way in the middle-overs and come back in the death. Rahman on the other hand has been bowling at multiple stages is finding ways to pick up wickets throughout the innings.
Bangladesh Vs New Zealand, Pitch and Conditions
The upcoming pitch is likely to give a low and slow surface yet again. The batters are in for more irritation but if they manage to adapt to the conditions and get a score in the 130s range the match will be interesting. The side batting first is at an advantage with chasing moderate targets being a tricky task.
