June 5, 2019 at 6 PM IST
Venue: Kennington Oval, London
Pitch and Condition
Ask South Africa how the pitch at Kennington Oval has been. The dark clouds overshadowing the venue and a thin layer of grass on the wicket paints perfect English conditions. The ball should ideally swing, kiss the edge, and fly to the slip cordon. Ask South Africa and they will tell that nothing of this sort has happened at the Kennington Oval, for three of four innings have manufactured scores in excess of 300 runs. Bangladesh has already registered a victory here. Their batsmen will be hungry for more runs. Make sure to pick the right players for your fantasy cricket team.
Probable XI for Bangladesh: Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Mohammad Mithun, Mahmudullah, Mosaddek Hossain, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mashrafe Mortaza (c), Mustafizur Rahman
Probable XI for New Zealand: Martin Guptill, Colin Munro, Kane Williamson (c), Ross Taylor, Tom Latham (wk), James Neesham, Colin de Grandhomme, Mitchell Santner, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult
Head-to-head in World Cup
Bangladesh (0) – New Zealand (4)
Preview
New Zealand had contrasting results in the warm-up games on contrasting pitches. When the conditions favoured their pacers, they triumphed. When their bowlers had nothing on offer, they leaked over 400 runs. Given the fact that the Bangladeshi batsmen are brimming with confidence, New Zealand will have a hard time putting a lid on runs. However, dynamics will change if New Zealand bat first. They chased down Sri Lanka’s 137-run target in 16.1 overs without losing a wicket.
Bangladesh’s victory, however, does not cover the chinks in their bowling armour. Barring Mustafizur and Shakib, the others failed to deceive the batsmen consistently. Captain Mortaza especially could not get his lengths right, having conceded 49 runs in 6 overs. On the other hand, Mehidy Hasan kept things simple. He knew there was not much turn, hence making sure he does not give away easy runs. He finished with 1 for 44 in 10 overs.
It is difficult to narrow down as to who has the edge, but this is World Cup and pressure here is tough to handle. For that matter, Bangladesh have never tasted victory against New Zealand in a World Cup, and their recent results does not help their case: they have lost 7 of their 9 ODIs against New Zealand since the 2015 World Cup.
Form guide
Guptill and Munro’s innings made sure other batsmen do not get to bat. Guptill was the aggressor, blasting 73 off 51. Meanwhile, Munro played second fiddle, scoring 58 off 47.
Henry and Ferguson did the bulk of the damage, taking a three-wicket haul each. Boult scalped a solitary wicket of a tailender.
After Tamim and Sarkar gave a good start against England, the veterans Shakib (75 runs) and Mushfiqur (78 runs) took centre stage. They stitched a match-winning partnership of 142 runs. Mahmudullah then waltzed Sri Lanka past 300 with a blistering knock of 46 off 33.
Mustafizur was the pick of the bowlers, having sniped up the important wickets of David Miller, JP Duminy, and Chris Morris.
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