Defending WTC champions New Zealand and the young Bangladesh side to face each other

In international cricket, the Bangladesh cricket team is currently touring New Zealand for a bilateral Test series. The two-match Test series between the two teams will kick off tomorrow. The first game will be played at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui. The second match will be played on January 9 at Hagley Oval in Christchurch.

Since 2001, New Zealand and Bangladesh have met in a total of 15 Test matches. New Zealand has won 12 matches and drawn 3 of them. Bangladesh is yet to win a Test match against New Zealand. The last time Bangladesh lost to the Black Caps (2-0) was in a three-match Test series, which was played in February 2019.

Bangladesh played their last Test series against visiting Pakistan where the Tigers got whitewashed in a two-match Test series. New Zealand, on the other hand, lost their last Test series to the hosts India where they played 2 matches. The first match was drawn. But in the last match, India won by a huge margin of 372 runs.

However, in the last five-Test series, Bangladesh won 1 series and lost 4. The only series the Tigers won was against Zimbabwe. New Zealand, on the other hand, has won four of the last five-Test series.

After winning the World Test Championship, the New Zealand players are now confident. On the other hand, in order to win against these world champions, the frustrated Bangladesh team has to do something extraordinary. Moreover, this time the Kiwis play on home soil. They will try to win the series and make a solid position on the World Test Championship points table.

New Zealand ranks 2nd and Bangladesh is at 9th spot in the ICC Test rankings. So, Bangladesh will have to work hard in this series to build a strong position in the points table.

Test Squad: 

New Zealand – Tom Latham (c), Ross Taylor, Henry Nicholls, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Will Young, Devon Conway, Tom Blundell (wk), Trent Boult, Kyle Jamieson, Neil Wagner, Matt Henry, Tim Southee

Bangladesh – Mominul Haque (c), Liton Das (wk), Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Shadman Islam, Yasir Ali, Mohammad Naim, Fazle Mahmud, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Ebadot Hossain, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Nurul Hasan (wk), Taijul Islam, Abu Jayed,  Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Shohidul Islam,  Khaled Ahmed

Test match schedule for New Zealand and Bangladesh:
1st Test – 01-05 January, Bay Oval (Mount Maunganui), 04:00 (GMT +6)
2nd Test – 09-13 January, Hagley Oval (Christchurch), 04:00 (GMT +6)

The Tigers are going to play a Test series against the strong Kiwis at their home. For more updates on the series, stay with Baji!