New Zealand vs Bangladesh 2021, 1st T20I: Match Preview And Prediction

The hosts New Zealand and the visitors Bangladesh are now ready for the three-match T20I series which will begin this Sunday (28th March) at Seddon Park (Hamilton).

Ahead of this T20I series, the hosts New Zealand and the visitors Bangladesh met in the three-match ODI series, where the hosts won the series by a 3-0 margin.

New Zealand vs Bangladesh 2021, 1st T20I: Match Preview

New Zealand

After completing the whitewash, the hosts New Zealand are now focusing on a strong start in the T20I series. Currently, as the hosts, New Zealand are in great form in T20 cricket.

Many IPL-bound players are missing from this T20I series as Tim Southee will lead this T20I side. While Finn Allen is the uncapped player, Will Young is waiting for his first T20I cap. Devon Conway is in very good form, who scored 72 and 126 runs in his second and third ODI after some impressive scores in T20 cricket. Also, Daryl Mitchell has impressed in the recent opportunities, including just completing his first century during his third ODI.

Captain Tim Southee, Lockie Ferguson and Adam Milne are the top pacers in this T20I side along with Hamish Bennett. Ish Sodhi and Todd Astle are the main spin bowling options of this team.

Full Squad

Tim Southee (C), Finn Allen, Todd Astle, Hamish Bennett, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway (wk), Lockie Ferguson, Martin Guptill, Adam Milne, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Ish Sodhi, Will Young

Bangladesh

The visitors Bangladesh mostly disappointed in the ODI series of this tour. They will now try their best to improve their performances and achieve their first international win against the hosts New Zealand soon.

Mahmudullah is ready to lead the Bangladesh team on the T20I side while experienced opening batsman Tamim Iqbal has already opted out from the T20I series. This is big testing but opportunity time for the Bangladesh team who will miss Tamim and Shakib Al Hasan and still have to perform well.

Liton Das, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah etc. have to take major responsibilities in batting in the T20I series. Mohammad Mithun hugely impressed with the bat during the second ODI of this tour where his 73 not out off 57 balls helped the visitors to score 270+ total.

While bowlers failed to handle the middle-overs as well as the death overs in the ODI series, Mustafizur Rahman, Taskin Ahmed, Rubel Hossain and others have huge responsibilities in the T20I series.

Full Squad

Mahmudullah (C), Mosaddek Hossain, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mohammad Mithun, Liton Das, Afif Hossain, Soumya Sarkar, Mohammad Naim, Taskin Ahmed, Al-Amin Hossain, Shoriful Islam, Hasan Mahmud, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mustafizur Rahman, Mehidy Hasan, Rubel Hossain, Mahedi Hasan, Nasum Ahmed

New Zealand vs Bangladesh 2021, 1st T20I: Match Prediction

Once again, the hosts New Zealand are favourite for the T20I series opener despite many star players are unavailable this side.