Buoyant after a comprehensive five-wicket win in the first T20I at the McLean Park in Napier on Wednesday, Bangladesh would like to seal the series with a win in the second T20I fixture against New Zealand to be played at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui on Friday (December 29).
Bangladesh seamers proved very hard to score off at McLean Park and right-arm off-spinner Mahedi Hasan impressed a lot. Mahedi bagged 2/14 in his four overs on a wicket that didn't have much in it for him and assisted his seamers incredibly well.
Though Bangladesh were fairly disciplined in their bowling performance, their batters looked ordinary while chasing a below-par total of 135 runs.
Barring Litton Das (42 off 36 balls), none of the other Bangladesh batters managed to stay long enough in the middle and that's a worrying sign for the visitors.
On the other hand, the Kiwis are expected to come hard at the Najmul Hossain Shanto-led side in Mount Maunganui. The Blackcaps wield a lot of firepower in their batting order and it may prove a daunting task for the Bangladesh attack to keep the hosts quiet two games in a row.
Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui Pitch Report
The pitch at the venue is usually a belter for batting and hence the batters are likely to have a field day. The wicket offers true bounce and therefore shot-making becomes an easier task. The bowlers will have to toil hard for success.
Bay Oval T20I Records and Stats
Total T20I Matches: 15
Matches won batting first: 11
Matches won bowling first: 2
Average first innings score: 160
Average second innings score: 136
Highest total scored: 243/5 by New Zealand vs West Indies
Highest score chased: 117/1 by NZ-W vs SA-W
Lowest total recorded: 90 all out by WI-W vs NZ-W
Lowest total defended: 124/5 by NZ-W vs WI-W
