Bangladesh cricket team will be hosting New Zealand in the first Test match of the series at Sylhet International Cricket Stadium in Sylhet starting on Tuesday, November 28. Bangladesh and New Zealand will be kicking off their ICC World Test Championship 2023-25 campaign after extravaganza at ICC ODI Cricket World Cup 2023 in India.
The Kiwis will be playing red-ball cricket after eight months and have named a strong side with former captain Kane Williamson returning to action. Tim Southee will be leading the pace attack with Kyle Jamieson back from his long-term injury but the bowling unit is likely to be dominated by spinners. Ish Sodhi, Mitchell Santner and Azaj Patel are expected to fight for a two-spin option while rising all-rounder Rachin Ravindra is expected to provide a third-spin option in this series.
Bangladesh famously beat New Zealand in Mount Maunganui Test last year but miss star batter Litton Das for this season. New Zealand have won four of their last five Test matches against Bangladesh and are clear favourites to dominate the two-match away series.
Sylhet International Cricket Stadium, Sylhet Pitch Report
The surface at Sylhet International Cricket Stadium in Sylhet offers a bowling-friendly surface across formats. In the only Test match played here in 2018, Bangladesh lost against Zimbabwe in a low-scoring game with teams failing to cross the 300-run mark in an innings. Spinners are expected to get a good amount of help with a turn from Day 1 and both teams will be looking to bat first after winning the toss in this match.
Sylhet International Cricket Stadium, Sylhet Records and Stats (Test)
Total Test Matches: 1
Matches won batting first: 1
Matches won bowling first: 0
Average first innings score: 282
Average second innings score: 143
Average third innings score: 181
Average fourth innings score: 169
Highest total scored: 282/10 by Zimbabwe vs Bangladesh
Lowest total defended: 143/10 by Bangladesh vs Zimbabwe
Bangladesh Test squad: Najmul Hossain Shanto (c), Shadman Islam, Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Nurul Hasan (wk), Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Hasan Mahmud, Shoriful Islam, Khaled Ahmed, Shahadat Hossain, Hasan Murad, Naeem Hasan, Zakir Hasan
New Zealand Test squad: Tim Southee(c), Kane Williamson, Devon Conway, Henry Nicholls, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (wk), Mitchell Santner, Ajaz Patel, Kyle Jamieson, Matt Henry, Will Young, Ish Sodhi, Glenn Phillips, Tom Blundell (wk)
