Bangladesh vs New Zealand: Blackcaps to go against Tigers in first T20I on Sept 1

Bangladesh will be looking for a famous new scalp when they will go head-on with New Zealand in their first T20I of the 5-match T20I series, which will be played on Wednesday at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium.

Bangladesh has beaten Australia 4-1 in a T20I series this month with strong support from the bowling side.

New Zealand is expecting the Tiger’s spin and slow seam lineup to be on the offensive once again.

If Bangladesh wins the series against the Blackcaps, it will give them a big boost for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup scheduled to start on October 17.

Currently, in the ICC T20I Teams ranking, New Zealand is ranked third while Bangladesh is ranked tenth.

The home team has never been able to secure any win against the opponent, while Blackcaps have won one of the games played on Bangladesh soil, by 15 runs in 2013.

After that, the Tigers have emerged as a strong team at home.

Australia found that how difficult can the Tigers’ slow bowlers be after they tasted defeat against them for the first time.

Many key players of New Zealand will not be a part of the squad due to their participation in the second leg of the Indian Premier League (IPL). They are also thinking of a similar strategy as their opponent.

“We have a perception of how we think they will play based on having a look at it and the recent Australia series,” said stand-in coach Glenn Pocknall.

“We are probably preparing for a slow and low wicket like the Australia series. We are not used to that. But if it has a bit more pace and bounce, we will be quite happy with that.”

Batting coach Ashwell Prince said New Zealand would also use the Australia series to prepare their counter-tactics.

“They are a street-wise team who would plan meticulously against every batsmen, bowlers and pitches,” he said.

“They will use every bit of information to help them.”

Musfiqur Rahim and Linton Das will also be part of the squad. This will give the home side an extra boost on the batting side.

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The matches will be played on September 1, 3, 5, 8, and 10 with strict COVID-19 rules. This means that there will be no spectators allowed.

Bangladesh squad

Mahmudullah Riyad, (capt), Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Soumya Sarkar, Liton Das, Mosaddek Hossain, Afif Hossain, Naim Sheikh, Nurul Hasan Sohan, Shamim Hossain, Rubel Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Taskin Ahmed, Mohammad Saifuddin, Shoriful Islam, Taijul Islam, Mahedi Hasan, Aminul Islam Biplob, Nasum Ahmed

New Zealand squad

Tom Latham (capt), Hamish Bennett, Tom Blundell, Doug Bracewell, Colin de Grandhomme, Jacob Duffy, Matt Henry, Scott Kuggeleijn, Cole McConchie, Henry Nicholls, Ajaz Patel, Rachin Ravindra, Ben Sears, Blair Tickner, Will Young.

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