NZ vs BAN: Match Preview, New Zealand vs Bangladesh 2022, 1st Test 

New Zealand will take on Bangladesh in the first of the two Tests at Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui. The first Test of the series is scheduled to be played from 1^st January to 5^th January 2022.

Both teams have played 15 Tests against each other in their Test cricketing history. Of those, New Zealand have managed to win 12 Tests, while three Tests resulted in draws. Bangladesh, on the other hand, is yet to win a Test match against New Zealand. Here’s a look at how these two teams shape up ahead of the first Test at the Bay Oval Ground.

NZ vs BAN: Match Preview, New Zealand vs Bangladesh 2022, 1st Test 

New Zealand

New Zealand Cricket Team will be playing the series without their skipper Kane Williamson, who is recovering from an elbow injury. In his absence, Tom Latham will lead the side. New Zealand are coming into this series on the back of a 1-0 defeat in the Test Match Test series in India. However, their overall record this year in Test Cricket has been nothing short of outstanding.

New Zealand lifted the World Test Championship title this year after beating India in the final. They won the Test series in England. In the last 11 Tests, New Zealand have managed to win on 8 occasions. They are yet to lose a game against Bangladesh at home. The last time when New Zealand played against Bangladesh in 2019, they beat them by an innings and 12 runs.

The Blackcaps will go into the first Test match as favourites. Given that the match will be played in New Zealand, they will be going in with a full pace attack. Trent Boult and Neil Wagner are expected to make their comeback in the playing XI. The duo will be supported by the likes of Tim Southee and Kyle Jamieson.

Interestingly, Ajaz Patel, who recently entered his name in the record books after picking 10 wickets in an innings, hasn’t been included in the squad. Rachin Ravindra will go into the contest as the only spinning option. As far as the batting is concerned, Tom Latham will be their biggest bet. He has been in outstanding form. Much to the delight of the fans, Devon Conway makes his international comeback after getting injured in the ICC T20 World Cup 2021.

Bangladesh

Bangladesh are yet to win a Test match against New Zealand in the Test Cricket history. Ahead of the two-match Test series, they will be keen to earn their first Test win against them. However, it’s going to be nearly impossible to beat New Zealand at home. Bangladesh’s most experienced cricketer, Shakib Al Hasan won’t be available for the series, which makes it even tougher for the Tigers to put on a fight against the World Test Champions.

They are coming into this series on the back of a 2-0 defeat in the home Test series against Pakistan. Bangladesh, in fact, have only won 2 Tests out of their 14 Test matches. Their two wins came against Zimbabwe.

For Bangladesh to make a statement in New Zealand, they will have to bat well against a solid New Zealand bowling unit. The onus will be on the likes of Liton Das, M Haque and Mushfiqur Rahim to score the bulk of the runs. Liton Das has been in blistering form, of late. He will be the man to watch out for. Das was the second-highest run-scorer in the recent home Test series against Pakistan. In 2 Tests, he managed to score 224 runs at 56.00.

With the ball, Taijul Islam will be the main man. He has been brilliant with his spin bowling exploits. He took 10 wickets in 2 Tests against Pakistan. However, the seaming conditions in New Zealand might not help him to make a similar impact.