Before the series starts, Bangladesh are all set to play New Zealand in a one-day tour match. The match will be played at the Cobham Oval, Whangarei. The live streaming of the match will be hosted on YouTube by BlackCaps TV, the official channel of New Zealand Cricket Board. Bangladesh and New Zealand are heading towards an interesting series. The teams will play 3 ODIs, 3 T20Is and 2 Tests in the series. While New Zealand are on a high after whitewashing Pakistan in their previous encounter, Bangladesh will be looking to make the most of their fourth New Zealand tour, and first in seven years.
Facing New Zealand in New Zealand will be a tough proposition for Bangladesh. They have played 42 Tests away from home, and have lost 36 of them. Two of their 3 wins have come against a second-string West Indies side, while the third came against Zimbabwe. However, a draw against England at home was certainly beneficial for them, and the arrival of fresh talent helped them in many ways. A great find of the series was Mehedi Hasan, who will be on the tour for New Zealand. However, the tour will Test Bangladesh’s pace attack and might help them find another stable option apart from Mustafizur Rahman.
The hosts have a strong batting line-up featuring the likes of captain Kane Williamson and Tom Latham. However, Bangladesh will be more wary of New Zealand’s excellent seam bowling attack under conditions that will assist them. Trent Boult, Tim Southee, Colin de Grandhomme, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson and Jimmy Neesham can be more than a handful for any side.