New Zealand vs Bangladesh 3rd T20 Predictions and Preview

Disclaimer: if you’re a Bangladesh fan, this will be painful for you to read. In the second T20 between New Zealand and Bangladesh, there was a point where the latter could possibly have gone on to win the match, but a truly bizarre change in approach and subsequent faltering meant that in the end, it wasn’t even close. The Kiwis took the series comfortably, and will now look to complete yet another home whitewash of Bangladesh. The Tigers don’t just look broken in spirit, but broken as a team. There just doesn’t seem to be any real zeal in the players, whose performances make them look like apathetic mercenaries. Nevertheless, the third match is on the cards, and I am all but obliged to say who knows what might happen. Before what will happen happens, let’s take a look at the two sides.

New Zealand

Predicted XI for 3rd T20 vs Bangladesh

Tim Southee (c), Martin Guptill, Finn Allen, Devon Conway, Glenn Phillips (wk), Mark Chapman, Will Young, Daryl Mitchell, Hamish Bennett, Adam Milne, Ish Sodhi.

Preview and form

As has been the case over the course of the last year, and the last 20 years when at home vs Bangladesh the Black Caps are looking rock-solid. Batting first, they got off to a shaky but quick  start, losing 5 relatively quick wickets. However, Glenn Phillips’ powerful 58 off 31 and Daryl Mitchell’s blitz of 34 off 16 gave the home side a strong 173 in the 18th over when rain interrupted play. This wasn’t the first time, so the umpires adjourned the innings and when the rain stopped, Bangladesh were given a scary 170 to chase off 16 overs. Despite things looking difficult at one point, double strikes from a very economical Tim Southee, and more expensive Hamish Bennett and Adam Milne saw the Kiwis win comfortably by 28 runs after DLS.

New Zealand key players for 3rd T20 vs Bangladesh

Devon Conway: Despite one poor game, Conway still remains the Kiwis most in-form batsman.

Will Young: The youngster hasn’t had the best of starts to his international career, but we suspect that might change.

Tim Southee: The experienced pacer was in his element on Tuesday, and can be counted on to repeat the feat.

Ish Sodhi: Smacked around in the last match, Sodhi won’t want to say goodbye to the series without some revenge.

Bangladesh

Predicted XI for 3rd T20 vs New Zealand

Mahmudullah Riyad (c), Afif Hossain, Liton Das (wk), Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mohammad Naim, Soumya Sarkar, Taskin Ahmed, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mahedi Hasan, Shoriful Islam, Nasum Ahmed.

Preview and form

With the series results finalized, Bangladesh might as well play without any pressure. In the last match, Mahedi Hasan struck twice but was expensive. Meanwhile, Shoriful Islam and Nasum Ahmed kept things tight - amazing feats considering how expensive the other bowlers were. Nevertheless, rain stopped play and they were given a steep 170 to chase off of just 16 overs. Although some fantastic hitting by Soumya Sarkar (51 off 28) saw them get to a point where they could have pulled off the seemingly impossible, Mohammad Naim’s terrible approach to the game (38 off 35) and the inability of others to build up a solid innings saw the Tigers fall asleep by the wayside and ending up with only 142 after the allotted overs. 

Bangladesh key players for 3rd T20 vs New Zealand

Liton Das: Liton has failed to fire in this T20 series, and must do so right away.

Soumya Sarkar: Sarkar was Bangladesh’s only glimmer of hope in the last match.

Shoriful Islam: Incisive in the last match, Shoriful might just improve on his performance.

Nasum Ahmed: The youngster has been excellent in a series devoid of many other good Bangladeshi performances.

New Zealand vs Bangladesh 3rd T20 pitch report and weather conditions

I feel like a broken record here, but like almost all New Zealand pitches, the Eden Park pitch offers plenty of juice for fast bowlers and batsmen alike. Teams winning the toss can choose to either bat or bowl, as both have yielded similar results at this venue. One interesting aspect is that New Zealand have a pretty poor record on this ground, but considering the state of Bangladesh, that shouldn’t be much of a problem. Expect first innings scores of 180+ to be in winning territory.

It will be quite amazing if this match is played in full, as the elements do not seem to want it. There is a very high chance of thunderstorms, and although other weather criteria are great for cricket, the first will be damaging enough. Expect DLS to come into play once again, if the match even manages to get to that point.

Can New Zealand finish what everyone expects them to do? Or can Bangladesh do what no one expects of them? Find out if our New Zealand vs Bangladesh predictions 3rd T20 come true on Thursday!