Tigers look to continue winning ways

New Zealand succumbed to their joint-lowest total in the first T20I against Bangladesh in Mirpur on Wednesday. With all the first-choice players not featuring, this series is an opportunity for the others to make a case for themselves but their first outing didn't go according to plan. On the other hand, Bangladesh continued to overpower the opponents in spin-friendly conditions and have now won seven out of their last nine matches in the shortest format. 

Runs were very hard to come by in the first T20I as the combined run-rate was under four an over. There has been a lot of talk of late about whether playing on these sluggish wickets will help Bangladesh prepare ahead of the World Cup or not. Batters haven't been able to express themselves because of the slowness of the wicket. But Shakib Al Hasan, who was named the player of the match in the first T20I, said that the habit of winning will help Bangladesh big time in the upcoming T20 World Cup. 

Most of the players of the New Zealand side are playing for the first time in Bangladesh and the conditions aren't familiar to them at all. According to Shakib, the pitch in the first match was more difficult than the Australia series and New Zealand stand-in coach Glenn Pocknall admitted that they misread the pitch. The pitch offered sharp turn and bounce right from the start. Tom Latham and Henry Nicholls showed that it's possible to score runs here if the batters take a bit of time. 

"We probably didn't quite assess the conditions as well as we thought. Losing four wickets for not many runs was always going to be a challenge in any form of cricket, especially this. We came back really well from that with a good little partnership between Tom Latham and Henry Nicholls. I think we will take a lot from that performance in the way that they batted in the middle for our game in a couple of days' time," said Pocknall. 

Shakib also pointed out that taking singles and doubles is very important on these pitches to keep the scoreboard ticking over and the visitors will look to make amends in the second game. The spotlight will be on Latham and Nicholls as they are two of the best players of spin. 

Rachin Ravindra and Cole McConchie made their international debut in the previous match but none of them could bother the scorers. But they should take a lot of heart from the bowling performance. McConchie got a wicket in the first-ever delivery of his career. Ravindra also took the wicket of Shakib. Ajaz Patel registered the most economical bowling spell by a New Zealander in T20Is, conceding just seven off four overs. The performance of the spin-bowling trio of New Zealand is positive they can take out of this match. 

New Zealand need to find a way very quickly to adapt to these challenging conditions. "It's about finding a way in these conditions and trying to assess what a good score is. With runs on the board, it isn't easy. As I said, it's about working out what a good score is and to try and work our way around it," Latham said. 

Mahmudullah also indicated that it's ideal to put runs on the board and later defend it. "I'd have batted first but it's always a tricky wicket," Mahmudullah said after the first match. 

The Bangladesh skipper lauded the bowlers for their clinical performance in the first match and said, "The main key was that the bowlers were hungry and disciplined with their skills; they were not trying too much and that was important. We need to come back again and do it again."

Tamim Iqbal has opted out of the upcoming T20 World Cup and so the likes of Mohammad Naim and Liton Das have to take more responsibility at the top of the order. 

The two teams will face each other in the second T20I of the five-match series on Friday. The match will begin at 4 pm local time at Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur. 

Bangladesh (probable): 1 Mohammad Naim, 2 Liton Das, 3 Shakib Al Hasan, 4 Mushfiqur Rahim, 5 Mahmudullah (capt), 6 Nurul Hasan (wk), 7 Afif Hossain, 8 Mahedi Hasan, 9 Mohammad Saifuddin, 10 Mustafizur Rahman, 11 Nasum Ahmed

New Zealand (probable): 1 Rachin Ravindra, 2 Tom Blundell/Finn Allen, 3 Will Young, 4 Colin de Grandhomme, 5 Tom Latham (capt & wk), 6 Henry Nicholls, 7 Cole McConchie, 8 Doug Bracewell, 9 Ajaz Patel, 10 Blair Tickner, 11 Jacob Duffy