Rain meant no play in
the second T20I, meaning Bangladesh can’t lose this series, and they should begin the final game high on confidence after chasing down the 183-run target without much fuss. It was the middle-order batters who made the difference then, as the trio of
Towhid Hridoy,
Shamim Hossain and
Parvez Hossain accelerated perfectly to go past the target with two overs in hand.
Bangladesh would, however, want their openers to show a bit more urgency in the powerplay.
Saif Hassan and
Tanzid Hasan are both capable batters, but couldn’t hit a higher gear in that first outing. Saif’s 17 took 16 balls and Tanzid’s 20 came off 25 balls. Especially when it came to Saif, there seemed to be a focus on boundaries: he got two fours and six, but conceded far too many dot balls.
New Zealand had the opposite experience in the last game.
Katene Clarke and
Dane Cleaver struck rapid half-centuries during a second-wicket stand of 88 with some attractive strokes. But once they left the scene, the middle-order struggled to keep the innings going. Only stand-in captain
Nick Kelly struck the ball cleanly, scoring a 27-ball 39, as they missed out on the 200-plus total they looked likely to get.
With the ball, New Zealand’s inexperience showed. Perhaps they missed a trick by not including left-arm spinner
Jayden Lennox. A few really big overs hurt them in the first game, and they will want to address that.
Bangladesh WWWLL (last five completed games, most recent first)
New Zealand LLLWW
In the spotlight: Bangladesh’s middle-order and Ish Sodhi
There was a lot of concern about Bangladesh’s middle-order ahead of the T20I series. Hridoy had a difficult outing in the third ODI, when he couldn’t farm the strike in the death overs with lower-order batters batting with him. Hridoy, however, turned things around with Parvez and Shamim in the first T20I, as they put up one of the best performances by the Bangladesh middle-order in a T20I chase. Parvez is a convert, having only started batting in the middle order since the start of this year, while Shamim shed the rust of not playing a competitive match for two months with some mind-boggling shots.
Ish Sodhi is the most successful bowler across the two squads, with 164 wickets in T20Is. He is level with Tim Southee as New Zealand’s highest wicket-taker in this format, but it was his expensive third over that turned the tide in Bangladesh’s favour in the first game. Sodhi finished with 2 for 40 from his four overs. Sodhi will be expected to turn things around in the more spin-friendly conditions in Dhaka.
Team news: Lennox could get a game
Bangladesh are unlikely to change the team that played in the first T20I.
Bangladesh: 1 Tanzid Hasan, 2 Saif Hassan, 3 Parvez Hossain Emon, 4 Litton Das (capt, wk), 5 Towhid Hridoy, 6 Shamim Hossain, 7 Mahedi Hasan, 8 Rishad Hossain, 9 Tanzim Hasan, 10 Shoriful Islam, 11 Ripon Mondol
New Zealand could bring Lennox into their playing XI. Who goes out is the question. Debutant
Matthew Fisher gave 53 runs from his four overs in the first game, and could be the one to face the axe, with
Ben Lister having conceded just 23 from his four overs and
Josh Clarkson 28 from three.
New Zealand: 1 Tim Robison, 2 Katene Clarke, 3 Dane Cleaver (wk), 4 Nick Kelly (capt), 5 Bevon Jacobs, 6 Dean Foxcroft, 7 Josh Clarkson, 8 Nathan Smith, 9 Ish Sodhi, 10 Matt Fisher/Jayden Lennox, 11 Ben Lister
Despite the change of venue from Chattogram to Dhaka, the forecast remains bad. The pitches in Dhaka have been under the covers for a few days, and that could mean moisture on the top layer, which could aid the fast bowlers. But there’s every chance the match will be hit hard by the weather. The second T20I in Chattogram was only the second instance of a T20I being abandoned without a ball bowled in Bangladesh.
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