Tom Latham and Will Young
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New Zealand and Bangladesh are set to square up against each other in the first of the two Tests from 1st to 5th January 2021 at Bay Oval Ground in Mount Maunganui. The New Zealand Cricket Team will be playing a Test series at home after suffering a 1-0 defeat in India. However, their recent result inspires a lot of confidence. New Zealand have an outstanding record at home and would be confident of winning the series.

Bangladesh vs New Zealand
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The Blackcaps have played against Bangladesh 15 times in Test Cricket. Of those, they have managed to beat Bangladesh on 12 occasions, while 3 Tests resulted in draws. New Zealand are yet to lose a Test match against Bangladesh. They would be keen to continue their unbeaten run ahead of a two-match Test series.

New Zealand’s full-time captain, Kane Williamson won’t be available for the series as he continues to recover from the elbow injury. Tom Latham will lead the side in his absence. In a big respite, Devon Conway will make his comeback after recovering from the injury he sustained during the ICC T20 World Cup 2021.

Given that the series will be played in New Zealand, the home team is likely to go in with all four pacers, namely Tim Southee, Trent Boult. Kyle Jamieson and Neil Wagner. Experienced veteran cricketer, Ross Taylor will be playing the last Test of his international cricket. He will retire from Test Cricket after the series. Expect him to end his career on a high.

Bangladesh National Cricket Team
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Facing them are Bangladesh, who are coming into this series on the back of a 2-0 defeat in the home Test series against Pakistan. Their recent result in the Test series doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence. Bangladesh 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 name a few. 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.

NZ vs BAN Weather Forecast and Pitch Report of Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui, New Zealand vs Bangladesh 2022, 1st Test

Mushfiqur Rahim and Liton Das
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Pitch Report: 

The pitch at Bay Oval ground is likely to assist the fast bowlers. There will be enough swing and seam movement to trouble the batsmen. Having said, it has been a good ground to score runs. Once the batsman adjust to the bounce on the surface and plays out the initial period, then he can score big knocks on this ground. The team winning the toss is likely to bat first upon winning the toss.

Average 1st Inns scores 392
Average 2nd Inns scores 427
Average 3rd Inns scores 188
Average 4th Inns scores 271