Big picture
After blowing away Bangladesh in the first ODI in Dunedin, New Zealand can go on to pick up the league award in Christchurch. This is the first night game for men at the Hagley Oval, which has often showcased a hard-fought range that has traditionally helped with quick bowling and a confident stroke.
New Zealand outperformed Bangladesh in almost every region of Dunedin. Trent Boult led a brilliant opening period, with Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson and Jimmy Neesham delivering positive moments through the innings. After a start by Martin Guptill and Henry Nicholls they later shortened a tiny run.
But it was not at all gloomy from the visitors. Tamim Iqbal played some pictures that reminded him of his ability to fight back in the most difficult situations, and the likes of Liton Das, Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah provided glimpses of their ability. With the ball, Taskin Ahmed and Mahedi Hasan bowled with a combination of attack and control that could come in handy if they defend a larger number.
Bangladesh will certainly have to make a big batter to have any chance at the league stage in Christchurch. For that, a lot will depend on how well Iqbal and Das handle the new ball, before the likes of Rahim and Mahmudullah take them deeper into the game. From a bowling standpoint as well, Mustafizur Rahman must be the main bowler, by bowling a deadly spell with the new ball.
Another thing, we could be in for another quick finish.
Form instructions
(completed matches, most recent first)
New Zealand WLWWW
Bangladesh LWWWW
In mind
If so Trent Boult he has a few other spells where he makes the new ball circle around as deceptively as he did in Dunedin, we may have a short ODI series in our hands. The four-wicket draw was just a reward for his defensive lengths, but more importantly how that pushed Bangladesh into a defensive mind for the rest of their innings.
At the beginning of 2020, Liton Das he had promised to be a tougher batsman but in his last four ODIs, he has only scratched 55 runs. He later recovered from a soft break in Dunedin, after working hard for nearly an hour against a quality speed attack. Bangladesh could really do with some top-running runs from Das if they are to level the league.
Team news
New Zealand are unlikely to break the combination they won after Ross Taylor was also eliminated from the second ODI, due to an injured hammer.
New Zealand (possibly): 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Henry Nicholls, 3 Devon Conway, 4 Will Young, 5 Tom Latham (capt & wk), 6 James Neesham, 7 Daryl Mitchell, 8 Mitchell Santner, 9 Kyle Jamieson, 10 Matt Henry, 11 Trent Boult
Mohammad Saifuddin could replace Hasan Mahmud, but it looks like the rest of the line-up could live in any chop as Bangladesh is watching bat deep and at least six bowling options. to have.
Bangladesh (probably): 1 Tamim Iqbal (capt), 2 Liton Das, 3 Soumya Sarkar, 4 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk) 5 Mohammad Mithun, 6 Mahmudullah, 7 Mehidy Hasan Miraz 8 Mahedi Hasan, 9 Taskin Ahmed, 10 Mustafizur Rahman, 11 Hasan Mahmud
Park and conditions
New Zealand and Bangladesh can look to two previous first innings scores of 289 for 7 (Northern Territories) and 178 all-out (New Zealand Women) in daytime games at the Hagley Oval, with the two teams losing. The weather at 18 degrees Celsius is expected to be nice and dry in Christchurch.
Stats and trivia
- New Zealand have lost just one of the ten ODIs they played at the Hagley Oval.
- Bangladesh was eliminated for a total of under 150 for the first time since September 2018 in Dunedin.
Quotes
“We played very well in the first game. It’s always nice to start with the intensity in our bowling performance. We really did impress with the way we started with the bat. We hope to continue but we expect Bangladesh to kick back in the big way. “- New Zealand Coach Gary Stead.
“We never got any moves because we kept losing wickets (in the first ODI). Lots of softballs too, let’s be honest. We hope the batters learned from that’s with the kick ball. “- Bangladesh fast bowling coach Ottis Gibson.
Mohammad Isam is a Bangladeshi journalist at ESPNcricinfo. @ isam84