Bangladesh will be playing for pride and crucial ICC Cricket Super League points when they face New Zealand in the third and final ODI match. And it will be a perfect occasion to pull off such a win as Bangladesh celebrate their 50th Independence Day on Friday.
But on the ground, in cricket ground, there's a different reality. Despite showing improved performance with the bat in the must-win second match on Tuesday, the visitors failed to defend 271/6 as Kiwi skipper Tom Latham hit an unbeaten 110 off 108 balls.
Bangladesh skipper Tamim Iqbal himself hit a patient 78 off an equal number of balls faced by his rival number. Mohammad Mithun also looked good, scoring a 57-ball 73. But their bowling failed, losing the match by five wickets in the penultimate over.
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New Zealand are boosted by the availability of mercurial Ross Taylor. And the Kiwis can afford to field a playing XI. But Bangladesh should stick with the same XI.
Head-to-head: New Zealand have now won six ODI matches on the trot against Bangladesh, and lead the head-to-head record 27-10 in 37 meetings. For the record, the two teams started their rivalry in a lopsided fashion with the Kiwis winning the first 11 encounters.
New Zealand are also looking to make a series sweep for the third successive series, having won 3-0s in 2017 and 2019.
Match and telecast details:
Match: 3rd ODI match between New Zealand and Bangladesh
Date: March 26 (Friday), 2021
Time: 3:30 AM IST/ 11:00 AM Local
Venue: Basin Reserve, Wellington
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TV Channels: Not available in India.
Live Streaming: FanCode (Subscription required)
Elsewhere...
Bangladesh: Gazi TV
New Zealand: Spark Sport
Playing XIs in the previous match:
New Zealand: Martin Guptill, Henry Nicholls, Devon Conway, Will Young, Tom Latham c & wk), James Neesham, Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Santner, Kyle Jamieson, Matt Henry, Trent Boult.
Bangladesh: Tamim Iqbal (c), Liton Das, Soumya Sarkar, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Mohammad Mithun, Mahmudullah, Mehidy Hasan, Mahedi Hasan, Mohammad Saifuddin, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman.
Likely XIs:
New Zealand: Martin Guptill, Henry Nicholls, Devon Conway,Ross Taylor, Tom Latham (c & wk), James Neesham, Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Santner, Kyle Jamieson, Matt Henry, Tim Southee.
Bangladesh: Tamim Iqbal (c), Liton Das, Soumya Sarkar, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Mohammad Mithun, Mahmudullah, Mehidy Hasan, Mahedi Hasan, Mohammad Saifuddin, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman.
Squads:
New Zealand: Martin Guptill, Henry Nicholls, Devon Conway, Will Young, Tom Latham (c & wk), James Neesham, Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Santner, Kyle Jamieson, Matt Henry, Trent Boult, Tim Southee, Mark Chapman, Ross Taylor.
Bangladesh: Tamim Iqbal (c), Liton Das, Soumya Sarkar, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Mohammad Mithun, Mahmudullah, Mehidy Hasan, Mahedi Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud, Mustafizur Rahman, Rubel Hossain, Al-Amin Hossain, Mosaddek Hossain, Nasum Ahmed, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mohammad Saifuddin, Afif Hossain, Mohammad Naim, Shoriful Islam.
*Live scorecard and commentary will be available after the toss.
