Bangladesh cricket team stand to write history when they take on New Zealand in the second Test of the two-match Test series at the Sher-e-Bangla stadium in Dhaka on Wednesday. The Tigers stunned New Zealand in Sylhet to win their maiden Test match at home against the BlackCaps. If they can avoid a loss in the BAN vs NZ 2nd Test, they will bag a Test series at home against NZ for the first time.
Bangladesh shook off their disappointment of the World Cup with a fantastic win against New Zealand in the first Test. The Tigers rode on Najmul Hossain Shanto’s second innings ton and left-arm spinner Taijul Islam’s 10-wicket haul to win the first Test over the Black Caps by 150 runs. Now, New Zealand face the tough task of winning the second Test to draw the series.
Fight to win series for Tigers
Bangladesh will be a bit worried about their batting, with only one batter scoring over 50 in the first innings. The lack of big scores might play a big factor in the second Test and Bangladesh would need to ensure the batters convert their starts into big scores. The likes of Zakir Hasan and Shahadat Hussain would want to score some big runs after missing out in the first Test.
Bangladesh’s bowling has been top notch in the first Test. Taijul Islam stood out for taking four wickets in the first innings and six wickets in the second, but he was ably assisted by the rest of Bangladesh bowlers. Mehedi Hasan and Mominul Haque especially looked dangerous with the former hitting the good length consistently and the latter beating the New Zealand batters.
New Zealand, on the other hand, would be looking to to change a lot of things in the second Test. After a heart-breaking ODI World Cup campaign where they lost out to India in the semi-final, the Black Caps suffered a surprising defeat in the first Test. Their batting left a lot to be desired in the first Test, with only two half-centuries across the two innings. Tim Southee will mostly be worried about the collapse in the second innings of the first Test. The Black Caps were bowled out for just 181 chasing 331 as Taijul Islam spun a web.
To talk about the Black Caps’ bowling, Glenn Phillips and Ajaz Patel showed in the first Test what it takes to succeed in the subcontinent conditions. But it wasn’t enough. Kiwis will also like to improve as a bowling unit to give themselves a fighting chance in the second Test. However, it won’t be very easy in front of a charged Bangladesh batting line-up.
BAN vs NZ Weather report
According to AccuWeather, The BAN vs NZ 2nd Test is expected to be interrupted with rainfall. There is rainfall expected on Wednesday and Friday, with partly cloudy skies on other days. The temperature is likely to remain between 26 and 29 degrees Celsius.
BAN vs NZ Pitch report
The Dhaka pitch is generally spinner-friendly, and the pitch for the second Test is expected to behave no differently. The cloudy conditions would definitely help the bowlers, as batters would find it difficult.
Bangladesh Probable XI:
Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Zakir Hasan, Najmul Hossain Shanto (C), Shadman Islam, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Shahadat Hossain, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Shoriful Islam, Nayeem Hasan, Khaled Ahmed, Taijul Islam
New Zealand Probable XI
Devon Conway, Tom Latham, Kane Williamson, Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, Tom Blundell (wk), Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee ©, Ajaz Patel, Neil Wagner
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