NZ vs BAN: Match Preview, New Zealand vs Bangladesh 2022, 2nd Test 

Bangladesh lock horns with New Zealand in the second and the final Test at Hagley Oval ground in Christchurch from 9^th to 13^th January 2022. Bangladesh stunned New Zealand after winning the first Test by 8 wickets. Here’s a look at how both the teams shape up ahead of the second Test match.

NZ vs BAN: Match Preview, New Zealand vs Bangladesh 2022, 2nd Test

Bangladesh:

The mood in Bangladesh’s camp would be ecstatic. Mominul Haque and Co. pulled off arguably their greatest victory in the history of Test cricket. They performed as a unit in the last game. Despite conceding 328 runs in the first innings, they didn’t lose heart and exhibited even better performance with the bat in the second innings. There were contributions from everyone in the top-eight batsmen.

Mahmudul Hasan Joy (78 off 228) and Shanto (64 off 109) set the tone with a hundred-run stand for the second wicket. Mominul Haque later played a vital 88-run knock of 244 deliveries to ensure Bangladesh capitalized on the good start. Liton Das then played another stellar knock of 86 runs off 177 to help Bangladesh post a formidable 458-run total, thereby taking a vital 130-run lead in the first innings.

New Zealand needed to bat really well in their second innings to get themselves back into the game but Ebadot Hossain ruined all their plans. The Bangladesh seamer exhibited, arguably, the best spell of his international cricket career. He ran through New Zealand’s batting unit, picking 6 wickets for 46 runs in 21 overs. His spell helped Bangladesh bundled out New Zealand for just 169 runs in the third innings. Bangladesh needed only 40 runs to create history and they did it with 8 wickets in hand.

Ahead of the second Test, you expect them to field the same playing XI. However, Hasan Roy is injured and M Naim is likely to replace him. That’s the only change they are expected to make.

New Zealand:

In the absence of Kane Williamson, New Zealand lost their first-ever Test match against Bangladesh in their cricketing history. They lacked steam and deserved to lose the Test. The bowlers allowed New Zealand to post a massive 458-run total. They were guilty of not pitching the balls in the right areas consistently and thus went for plenty of runs.

Wagner picked three crucial wickets at the top of the order by toiling hard with the ball. Later, Boult also took four wickets but it came a bit late. Southee looked far from his best, while Jamieson too was guilty of not showing discipline with the ball. There wasn’t a lot of assistance for the bowlers in the first Test but you expect them to perform much better with the ball. Nevertheless, one can expect New Zealand’s bowling unit to come hard in the next Test match.

New Zealand’s posted 328 runs with the bat in the first innings, thanks to a century from Devon Conway and half-centuries from Will Young and Henry Nicholls. However, in their second innings, they were bowled out for just 169 runs. Will Young and Ross Taylor made 69 and 40 respectively. But other than that, there wasn’t any notable contribution from the batsmen. One doesn’t expect the New Zealand batsmen to exhibit such a lackluster performance in their own backyard.