3rd T20I: Bangladesh eye historic series win against NZ
New Zealand will fight to avoid a series defeat in the third and final T20I against Bangladesh. While the Tigers clinched the low-scoring series opener, the second match got washed out due to rain. Hence, the home team has a lot to play for. Bangladesh, meanwhile, have a chance to clinch a historic series win on NZ soil. Here we look at the preview.
Venue, timing, broadcast details, and more
The Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui will host the second T20I on December 31 from 5:30am IST. The surface here usually assists the batters, while the seamers can gain early movement. Teams batting first have won 11 of the 15 concluded T20Is played here. The match will not be telecasted on television, so fans can stream the match live on the Amazon Prime website.
A look at the head-to-head record
NZ and Bangladesh have featured in 18 concluded T20Is in total. The Kiwis have a major upper hand with 14 wins in comparison to Bangladesh's four triumphs. Bangladesh defeated NZ 3-2 in the five-T20I series in 2021. Apart from that, they have won just a solitary match against the Kiwis in T20Is. Bangladesh's win in the opener was their maiden T20I triumph in NZ.
NZ batters must step up
The Kiwis were let down by their batters in the first T20I as they were reeling at 1/3 while batting first. Prominent names like Daryl Mitchell and Glenn Phillips need to step up. For Bangladesh, Shoriful Islam (3/26) was the pick of the bowlers. Though Bangladesh also suffered a top-order collapse, Litton Das (42*) powered them over the line.
Probable XIs of the two sides
New Zealand (Probable 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. Bangladesh (Probable XI): Soumya Sarkar, Rony Talukdar (WK), Najmul Hossain Shanto (C), Shamim Hossain, Towhid Hridoy, Afif Hossain, Mahedi Hasan, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Shoriful Islam, Rishad Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman.
Here are the key stats
Mark Chapman made his switch from Hong Kong to NZ in 2018 and has hammered 956 runs for the Kiwis ever since. Tim Southee is the highest wicket-taker in T20Is with 145 scalps from 115 matches at 23.57. Mustafizur Rahman is Bangladesh's most successful bowler against NZ in T20Is with 16 scalps from 10 matches. He has amassed eight T20I wickets this year.
Dream11 Fantasy cricket options
Fantasy XI (Option 1): Mark Chapman, Tim Seifert, Nazmul Hossain Shanto, Daryl Mitchell (VC), Glenn Phillips, Finn Allen, Soumya Sarkar, Mitchell Santner (C), James Neesham, Tim Southee, Shoriful Islam. Fantasy XI (Option 2): Mark Chapman, Nazmul Hossain Shanto, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips (C), Finn Allen, Soumya Sarkar (VC), Mitchell Santner, James Neesham, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Tim Southee, Shoriful Islam.
