Bangladesh will face a stern test against hosts New Zealand on Sunday in their second match of the tri-nation Twenty20 series, a match where they would want to bounce back after the defeat against Pakistan in the series opener.
The match, which will take place at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch, will begin at 12:00pm Bangladesh Standard Time. T Sports will live telecast the match, reports news agency BSS.
The Tigers began their tri-series campaign in disappointing fashion, losing the first game to Pakistan by 21 runs.
Losing wickets in the middle-overs and expensive outings of pacers Mustafizur Rahman and Hasan Mahmud cost Bangladesh the match.
Mustafiz conceded 48 runs in his four overs, including 16 and 13 runs respectively in the 17th and 20th over of the Pakistan innings.
Mustafiz’s expensive overs allowed Pakistan to post 167-5.
A 50-run stand from Liton Das and Afif Hossain kept Bangladesh alive in the match. But the Tigers lost four wickets in just 15 balls to be reduced to 101-6 after 14.5 overs and couldn’t recover from that.
Skipper Shakib Al Hasan is expected to return to the side. Shakib was rested for the match against Pakistan after joining the team the evening before the match.
Vice-captain Nurul Hasan led the team against Pakistan.
Shakib’s inclusion will be a boost for the Tigers but the odds are stacked against them as they have never before beaten New Zealand in the shortest format of the game.
Bangladesh have so far played 15 T20Is against the Kiwis, seven of them took place in New Zealand, and haven’t managed to beat them even once.
Bangladesh achieved its first and so far only win in New Zealand against New Zealand across the three formats in January this year, when the defeated the Black Caps in the Mount Maunganui Test.
Meanwhile, New Zealand will also be looking to return to winning way after they suffered a six-wicket defeat to Pakistan in their first game on Saturday.