New Zealand captain Tom Latham elected to bat first against Bangladesh in the second ODI in Dhaka on Monday. New Zealand have fielded an unchanged XI, sticking to the personnel that brought them success in the first game.
Bangladesh’s Change to the Lineup
Bangladesh, though, have made one change, bringing in Soumya Sarkar in place of the out-of-form Afif Hossain. Afif Hossain made a painstaking 27 in the first game as Bangladesh lost momentum in the middle period from a good position to fall 26 runs short.
Mustafizur Rahman continued to miss out, giving Shoriful Islam another chance after he was a late replacement in the first game but responded well to return 2 for 27.
Pitch Conditions at Shere Bangla National Stadium
The pitch at the Shere Bangla National Stadium is a point of interest. The strip was last used during the series against Pakistan in March, when fast bowlers ruled the roost. It has a grass covering, and Bangladesh have stuck to their three-man seam attack: Shoriful, Taskin Ahmed and Nahid Rana.
It is likely that there will be less variable bounce, and more pace on this surface than in the previous game.
New Zealand seamer Nathan Smith predicted in the pre-match press conference that there would be better bounce, having looked at the surface from close quarters a day out. Bangladesh’s team management is also clearly becoming convinced that their quick bowlers are their match-winners these days, and conditions need to be made to suit them.
Das’s Milestone ODI
For Litton Das, the Bangladesh wicketkeeper-batter, it’s a 100th ODI appearance.
Teams
Bangladesh: 1 Saif Hassan, 2 Tanzid Hasan, 3 Towhid Hridoy, 4 Soumya Sarkar, 5 Najmul Hossain Shanto, 6 Litton Das (wk), 7 Mehidy Hasan Miraz (capt), 8 Rishad Hossain, 9 Taskin Ahmed, 10 Shoriful Islam, 11 Nahid Rana
New Zealand: 1 Henry Nicholls, 2 Will Young, 3 Nick Kelly, 4 Dean Foxcroft, Tom Latham (capt, wk), 6 Muhammad Abbas, 7 Josh Clarkson, 8 Nathan Smith, 9 Blair Tickner, 10 Will O’Rourke, 11 Jayden Lennox