Bangladesh skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto won the toss and elected to field in the first Twenty20 international against New Zealand at Napier on Wednesday.
Pacer Tanzim Hasan Sakib has been making his debut in the international T20s in the match.
The Tigers have played nine T20Is against the Kiwis in New Zealand but could not manage to register any win in the shortest format of the game. Overall Bangladesh have played 11 T20Is in the country without securing any win.
However, the Tigers will be hoping for a better performance like they did a couple of days before Christmas against the hosts at this very venue although that was in the One Day International.
In the third ODI, Bangladesh bundled out New Zealand for a mere 98 in 31.4 overs and then chased down the target of 99 losing only one wicket in 15.1 overs. That was the Tigers’ first ever ODI win over the Kiwis in New Zealand.
In the T20s, though, New Zealand have plenty of firepower and might want to bat the visitors out of the game.
Earlier, Skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto and head coach Chandika Hathurusingha said the team’s preparation for the T20 World Cup will begin with this match.
Bangladesh XI: Litton Das (wk), Soumya Sarkar, Najmul Hossain Shanto (c), Rony Talukdar, Towhid Hridoy, Afif Hossain, Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Shoriful Islam, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Mustafizur Rahman
New Zealand XI: Tim Seifert (wk), Finn Allen, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner (c), Adam Milne, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Ben Sears