Bangladesh Vs New Zealand, Match Preview
New Zealand fought back well and gave Bangladesh a taste of their own medicine to keep the series alive. They used their spinners to choke Bangladesh and upped their game after winning the toss. Ajaz Patel lead the way with four wickets while Rachin Ravindra and McConchi both supported him. Seamers Jacob Duffy and Scott Kuggeleijn bowled economical spells.
With the bat, Finn Allen got the side of to a good start and Tom Blundell along with Henry Nicholls continued the good work. The batting is showing some good signs and seems to have adapted to the slow surfaces. They are slowly finding the pattern to achieve a reasonable score on the surfaces which has helped them in the third T20I.
Bangladesh, despite the loss will still be favorites to close out the series. They have a great record against New Zealand at home and will look to extend that in the upcoming fixture. Their spin trio has been good along with Mustafizur Rahman and Saifuddin.
The main worry for Bangladesh is the batting. While Litton Das looks promising, the number three spot has been constantly experimented with. Shakib Al Hasan seems like the front runner for the spot followed by Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah.
Bangladesh Vs New Zealand, Team News
Bangladesh have batting options on the bench but will likely continue with the same side. With Tamim Iqbal opting to sit out of the World Cup, Bangladesh will have to back their current opening pair.
New Zealand have found a good combination in the previous game with a deep batting line-up and handy bowling attack on slow surfaces. Scott Kuggeleijn though, might be an injury concern. He walked off in the previous game and nothing has been said about his fitness.
Bangladesh Vs New Zealand, Players to Watch out for
Liton Das
With Tamim Iqbal out of the side indefinitely, Liton Das holds the key for Bangladesh at the top. He has an opportunity to prove himself in the international arena with an extended rope. However, in this series, Das has gotten of to starts before losing his wicket in a manner that is very expected of him. He has not found a way to hang on for a long innings and will need to bat longer to prove himself as a handy opener.
Ajaz Patel
Ajaz Patel was on fire in the third T20I. He took four wickets to bring New Zealand back into the series, and finished with one of the best figures by a New Zealand spinner. He has used the conditions as well as the Bangladesh bowlers and looked threatening throughout the series. With two games left, Ajaz Patel will be hoping to put up some more big performances. With a few more big performances he may find a way to break into the World Cup squad as an extra spinner, although the squad has already been announced.
Bangladesh Vs New Zealand, Predicted XIs
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
New Zealand (probable): 1 Rachin Ravindra, 2 Finn Allen, 3 Will Young, 4 Tom Latham (capt & wk), 5 Colin de Grandhomme, 6 Henry Nicholls, 7 Tom Blundell, 8 Cole McConchie, 9 Ajaz Patel, 10 Scott Kuggeleijn, 11 Jacob Duffy
Bangladesh Vs New Zealand, Pitch and Conditions
The surface is expected to spin again, giving an advantage to the side batting first. The game could well be determined at the toss with the pitch known to get slower as the match progresses.
