New Zealand vs Bangladesh – 1st One-Day International Preview & Prediction
THE FACTS
When is New Zealand vs Bangladesh taking place? Friday, March 19th, 2021 – 22:00 (UK)
Where is New Zealand vs Bangladesh taking place? University Oval, Dunedin
What is the expected weather for New Zealand vs Bangladesh? 17c with sunshine and cloudy intervals forecast
What channel is New Zealand vs Bangladesh on? The match will be televised live on BT Sport 2
Where can I stream New Zealand vs Bangladesh? The match can be streamed live the BT Sport app and website
LAST MEETING
New Zealand beat Bangladesh by 2 wickets
THE TEAM NEWS
NEW ZEALAND
- New Zealand welcome Bangladesh for this one-day international series which will see the hosts play their first 50-over matches in just over one year and they will look to extend their four-match winning streak over the tourists in this format.
- They come into this opening match in Dunedin without skipper Kane Williamson and veteran Ross Taylor so that will likely see Devon Conway and Will Young come into the line-up while Tom Latham will skipper the side.
- While the batting is slightly weakened, they have excellent all-rounder options in Mitch Santner, Daryl Mitchell, Mark Chapman and Jimmy Neesham, while the bowling attack looks as formidable as ever with Southee, Boult and Jamieson leading the way.
BANGLADESH
- Bangladesh arrive in New Zealand following a home series with the West Indies where they whitewashed the Caribbean side in the one-day series so they will be full of confidence ahead of this opening match.
- While skipper Tamim Iqbal will miss the T20 series, he is available for the ODIs and he will look to lead from the front at the top of the order in what is a strong Bangladeshi batting line-up.
- The pace bowlers will be asked to step up here after their spinners led the way against the Windies and Mustafizur Rahman, Taskin Ahmed and Mohammad Saifuddin will have to hit the ground running and find the right lengths quickly in these different conditions.
THE PREDICTION
New Zealand welcome Bangladesh as this three-match ODI series kicks off in Dunedin and despite missing skipper Kane Williamson, they will be confident of doing well. They are incredibly strong on home turf and with this being the start of the tour for Bangladesh, it could well take the tourists time to adapt to conditions. Bangladesh are somewhat underrated in this format and they have a strong and experienced batting line-up. That said, they will find it challenging to adapt immediately and despite being slightly weakened, the Blackcaps have to be favoured to open with a victory.
