Published: May 23, 2017, 03:26 PM (IST)
Edited: May 23, 2017, 03:26 PM (IST)
New Zealand and Bangladesh lock horns for one final time in the sixth and final match of Ireland Tri-Nation Series, at Clontarf Cricket Club Ground, Dublin. These two sides met at this venue in Match No. 3 of the tournament. New Zealand beat the fallible Bangladesh by 4 wickets. Regardless of what happens in this match, New Zealand will remain on top of the points table. They have won all their three matches so far and sit pretty with 12 points. Bangladesh, on the other hand, have lost just one but have six points as one of their matches against Ireland was washed out. This will be a crucial match for both sides, as this is the final match for them ahead of ICC Champions Trophy 2017 (excluding the warm-up match). FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: Bangladesh vs New Zealand, Match 6 at Castle Avenue, Dublin
New Zealand, who are playing a second-string side for the tournament, will have the services of their regular skipper Kane Williamson and other prominent members such as Tim Southee, Trent Boult and Colin de Grandhomme back for the Champions Trophy. They were away in India, playing Indian Premier League (IPL), which concluded on Sunday. Tom Latham has, however, led from the front in this tournament and is the leading run-scorer with 173 runs at 57.66. He has rallied his troops well and churned out the results.
In the absence of a few regular members, some new faces have made a mark for themselves. The likes of Scott Kuggeleign and Seth Rance have had fruitful starts to their career, while another fast bowler Hamish Bennett made a return to One-Day Internationals (ODI) after a gap of over 3 years. Kuggeleign has been the better of the two debutants. Based on his superior performance, he should be considered for the last contest. Bennett, too, impressed on his return but was dropped for the next match against Ireland despite finishing with figures of 3 for 31, making way for Matt Henry.
New Zealand have been mixing up their XI in the series. If New Zealand do go in with four seamers, including Corey Anderson in this match once again, Adam Milne and Henry seem to be sure starters. However, there will be competition between Rance, Kuggeleign and Bennett for the final pacer’s slot.
Bangladesh, in their previous match, had an easy outing against Ireland. All-rounder Sunzamul Islam was handed an ODI debut and he responded with 2 for 22 from his 5 overs. Bangladesh preferred Sunzamul ahead of Mehedi Hasan and the gamble paid off. Bangladesh went in with three spinning all-rounders, with Mosaddek Hossain and Shakib-Al-Hasan being the other two. However, Mehedi did not pick up any wicket in his two matches, but is expected to play a crucial role in the Champions Trophy – a tournament Bangladesh will participate in for the very first time. With Mahmudullah also in the fray, Bangladesh are not short of all-rounders.
They are also well equipped in the fast-bowling area. The likes of Rubel Hossain, Mashrafe Mortaza and Mustafizur Rahman have bowled well together. Also, Taskin Ahmed will be available, if needed. However, Bangladesh have indicated Rubel, Mortaza and Mustafizur will be their first-choice pacers. They might experiment with Taskin in this match in a couple of warm-up matches after this, but the young pacer will find it difficult to break into this team.
Rain might interrupt play. However, there is no rain threat for a large portion of the match, which is good news for both teams and also the crowd in attendance.
Squads:
Bangladesh: Mashrafe Mortaza (c), Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal, Mahmudullah, Rubel Hossain, Sabbir Rahman, Soumya Sarkar, Mosaddek Hossain Saikat, Mustafizur Rahman, Mehedi Hasan, Imrul Kayes, Shafiul Islam, Nasir Hossain, Nurul Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, Sunzamul Islam, Subashis Roy
New Zealand: Tom Latham (c), Ross Taylor, Luke Ronchi (wk), Neil Broom, Seth Rance, George Worker, Hamish Bennett, Colin Munro, Ish Sodhi, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Jeetan Patel, Scott Kuggeleijn, Henry Nicholls
TIME: 15.15 IST | 09.45 GMT | 10.45 Local
