Bangladesh host New Zealand in the first of a three-game ODI series between the teams at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka on Friday, April 17. For the visitors, this will be good preparation in alien conditions. Plus, their squad will miss several regulars, who have franchise commitments across the world, notably the Indian Premier League. Bangladesh will be at full strength and aim to dislodge New Zealand’s confidence.
The Kiwis are known for being good players and exponents of spin despite growing up in conditions where they see very little of it. Bangladesh will challenge this competency as they are brilliant in this in their home conditions. The pitch in Dhaka is bound to support spinners, but it will also provide the visitors the chance to score runs freely if they spend time at the wicket. New Zealand must look to remain compact at the crease and not let distractions take their focus away.
Led by Tom Latham, the Kiwis have a fairly young squad, and it will be interesting to see how these players get used to the conditions in the subcontinent. However, there is also the presence of Henry Nicholls and Will Young in the squad. Bangladesh, meanwhile, will be worried about the availability of Towhid Hridoy, who is nursing a tennis elbow injury. His availability will be confirmed after the camp to which the Bangladesh players have to report. Nonetheless, the two teams appear to be quite balanced, given the inexperience in the Kiwis’ unit.
Predicted Teams
BAN: Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Saif Hassan, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Litton Das (wk), Soumya Sarkar, Afif Hossain, Mehidy Hasan Miraz (c), Rishad Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Taskin Ahmed, Nahid Rana.
NZ: Tom Latham (c) (wk), Henry Nicholls, Will Young, Dean Foxcroft, Nick Kelly, Dane Cleaver, Muhammad Abbas, Blair Tickner, Will O’Rourke, Adithya Ashok, Jayden Lennox.
Key Players
Litton Das (BAN): Senior wicketkeeper-batter Litton Das is one of the players to watch out for in this Bangladeshi unit. Das is renowned for being a prolific run-scorer, even though he is yet to be consistent in this format. Das can be a handy addition to the Bangladeshi middle-order as he can sweep the ball well, and also use his feet to quickly get to the pitch. His proficiency against spin makes him a difficult player to bowl to, as the Kiwis will undoubtedly find out.
Will Young (NZ): Will Young is among the few experienced players in this New Zealand side. Expected to bat at number three, Young will provide solidity and stability to the side and anchor the innings. The right-handed batter knows well how to rotate the strike. He can also be trusted to take the aerial route against spinners on the odd occasion. Young is a batter around whom the entire Kiwi batting unit can revolve.
Match Prediction
Bangladesh should be able to make the most of the relative youth in the New Zealand set-up and win the first match. The visitors will, quite naturally, take some time to get used to these conditions, as well as the peak Bangladeshi heat in the summer. It will be highly improbable for New Zealand to arrive well prepared for such weather. It will take them several training sessions and matches to acclimatise. Bangladesh should coast to a comfortable win in the first match. The Kiwis will take time to adjust.
