New Zealand vs Bangladesh, T20I series: Presenting the statistical preview
New Zealand will aim to kick-start their three-match T20I series against Bangladesh on December 27 with a win, carrying the momentum from the ODI series. Meanwhile, the Bangla Tigers will be high on morale after their historic ODI win in their last encounter in Napier. Bangladesh have never won a T20I in NZ but will look to script history. Here's more.
A look at the head-to-head record
NZ and Bangladesh have featured in 17 T20Is in total. The Kiwis have a major upper hand with 14 wins in comparison to Bangladesh's three triumphs. Bangladesh defeated NZ 3-2 in the five-match T20Is in 2021, which was played in Bangladesh. Apart from that, they have never won against the Kiwis in T20Is. The Bangla Tigers have never won a T20I on NZ soil.
Williamson, Jamieson have been withdrawn from NZ T20I squad
Designated captain Kane Williamson and Kyle Jamieson have been withdrawn from the NZ T20I squad. Both the players have gone through a rough few months with injuries and have been withdrawn as a precautionary measure with a focus on summer's Test series against SA and Australia. Jacob Duffy and Rachin Ravindra have been named as their replacements, while Mitchell Santner will captain the team.
Chapman closes in on 1,000 T20I runs
Mark Chapman made his switch from Hong Kong to NZ in 2018 and has hammered 937 runs for the Kiwis ever since. The 29-year-old needs 63 more to complete 1,000 runs in the shortest format of the game. He can become the 10th Kiwi batter to achieve this feat in T20Is. Currently, he has clocked six fifties and a solitary ton.
Southee can get to 150 T20I wickets
Tim Southee is NZ's highest wicket-taker in T20Is with 144 scalps from 114 matches at 23.62. He is six away from becoming the first-ever bowler to amass 150 T20I scalps. Overall, he is also the highest wicket-taker in T20Is. Other than him, only Shakib Al Hasan has touched the 140-wicket mark. Southee is NZ's most successful T20I bowler against Bangladesh with 16 scalps.
Key players for New Zealand
Ish Sodhi has scalped 14 T20I wickets against Bangladesh. He has claimed 126 T20I scalps. He needs five more wickets to overtake Rashid Khan's T20I tally (130). Chapman is NZ's most successful T20I batter this year with 556 runs from 18 matches, slamming four fifties and a ton. Tim Seifert has hammered 357 T20I runs in 2023 with three fifties at 154.54 strike rate.
A look at Bangladesh's star performers
Mustafizur Rahman is Bangladesh's most successful bowler against NZ in T20Is with 14 scalps from eight matches. He has amassed six T20I wickets this year. Litton Das has amassed the most T20I runs this year for Bangladesh with 282 runs, slamming two fifties. Mahedi Hasan has scalped nine T20I wickets against the Kiwis. Soumya Sarkar has amassed 180 T20I runs against NZ (50: 1).
Here are the T20I squads
NZ squad: Mitchell Santner (captain), Finn Allen, Mark Chapman, Jacob Duffy, Adam Milne, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Ben Sears, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi, and Tim Southee. Bangladesh squad: Najmul Shanto (captain), Litton Das, Rony Talukdar, Tawhid Hridoy, Shamim Hossain, Afif Hossain, Soumya Sarkar, Mehidy Hasan, Mahedi Hasan, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam, Hasan Mahmud, Rishad Hossain, Tanvir Islam, and Tanzim Sakib.
