Bangladesh’s historic, first-ever bilateral tour of New Zealand got underway on the 2nd of December with the 1st of 3 Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) and the tour concludes with a 3-match One-Day International (ODI) series that follows just after. With a decider in waiting, live action now moves to Dunedin where the two sides compete in the 2nd T20I at University Oval, Dunedin at 6:30 AM IST.
The opening T20I saw White Ferns openers, Suzie Bates (41) and Sophie Devine (45) top score for the side and in doing so provided the middle order with a fine platform that they banked on as contributions from Amelia Kerr (21), Maddy Green (36*) and Lea Tahuhu (13*) helped New Zealand post a competitive 164. The Bangladesh XI only managed telephone digits against their names as Ritu Moni top scored for the side with 6(17) to her name in the horrific 32-run collapse which saw Lea Tahuhu and Hayley Jensen as the key architects having picked 4 and 3 wickets respectively.
Head-to-Head :
The two sides, New Zealand and Bangladesh have only played a couple of games against each other and New Zealand with wins on both occasions holds a 100% win record and a 2-0 lead heading into the series decider.
Squads:
New Zealand – Sophie Devine (C), Suzie Bates, Eden Carson, Lauren Down, Maddy Green, Brooke Halliday, Hayley Jensen, Fran Jonas, Amelia Kerr, Jess Kerr, Jess McFadyen, Georgia Plimmer, Lea Tahuhu
Bangladesh – Nigar Sultana (C/WK), Sharmin Akter, Fargana Hoque, Rumana Ahmed, Ritu Moni, Lata Mondol, Salma Khatun, Nahida Akter, Murshida Khatun, Jahanara Alam, Fahima Khatun, Sanjida Akther, Fariha Islam, Marufa Akter, Rabeya Khatun, Dilara Akter, Disha Biswas
Players to watch :
Sophie Devine
The 33-year-old, in 110 innings has scored 2884 runs and with 17 fifties and 1 century to her name has got the highest score of 105. With the ball, in 101 innings she’s picked up 109 wickets with the best figures of 4/22.
Lea Tahuhu
The 32-year-old, in 68 innings with the ball has picked up 60 wickets and has got the best figures of 4/6 to her name. In 23 innings with the bat, she’s got 140 runs with the highest score of 27.
Ritu Moni
The 29-year-old, in 32 innings with the bat has scored 231 runs with the highest being a 39* and in 33 innings with the ball she’s bagged 19 wickets with the best figures of 4/18.
Fargana Hoque
The 29-year-old, in 75 innings has scored 1214 runs at an average of 19.26, a strike rate of 81.91 and with 3 fifties and a century to her name has got the highest score of 110* to her name.
Pitch :
The 22 yards at this venue is an excellent one for batting as the short boundaries help teams accelerate their scorecard and the pitch is most likely to remain the same through the course of the game. The venue has got a bit in for bowlers as well as it does provide a little assistance to spinners and pacers as well.
Weather :
The weather on the radar is a pleasing one as there’s no rain on the radar during match hours. The temperature is predicted around the late 10s which means a cloudy overhead will bring the pacers into the play as well.
Fantasy playing XI :
Sophie Devine, Suzie Bates, Fargana Hoque, Nigar Sultana, Maddy Green, Amelia Kerr, Ritu Moni, Rumana Ahmed, Jess Kerr, Lea Tahuhu, Jahanara Alam
Match details :
Date – December 4, 2022
Time – 6:30 AM IST
Venue – University Oval, Dunedin
