Expectations high as the Tigers take on Kiwis

Bangladesh are all set to take on New Zealand in the first T20I of the five-match series today at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur with expectations high after their recent series wins against Zimbabwe away and Australia at home. The match will get underway at 4:00 PM Bangladesh Time.

Bangladesh's motivation will be to keep their winning run going in the shortest format which proved to be a thorn in their side in the past. The New Zealand series provides a last opportunity to gauge their strengths and weaknesses ahead of the World Cup in two months' time, but while there is need for experimentation, the head coach Russell Domingo dictated that the team management wants the players to keep accumulating belief through to the coveted tournament in the UAE.

This would, however, be Bangladesh's last series heading into the World Cup and given that their series win against Australia came in pitches where the performances of the batters were hard to measure, Domingo has also said that they want to play on wickets that produced '150-160 runs'. It may, however, not be on the cards as pitches in Mirpur are generally on the slower side with turn available for spinners.

While the opening pair did not appear to be an issue in the Zimbabwe series, it will be a crucial one in the series against the Kiwis. The return of Liton Das gives options in the opening slot with Mohammad Naim and Soumya Sarkar having occupied the roles in the recent series. An air of healthy competition has been flowing through the side in recent series and the return of Liton and Mushfiqur Rahim further adds a sweet dilemma for the selectors.

Nurul Hasan, who showed his usefulness behind the stumps, will share the wicketkeeping duties with Mushfiqur as Tigers look for alternative team combinations before the World Cup.

New Zealand, on the other hand, are in the opposite spectrum in terms of motivation, having sent in a side without any of the players that will be heading to the T20 World Cup in UAE. They have some young players that they want to blood for the future while Tom Latham's experience will count as he leads the Kiwis in the format for the first time.

"We know things won't be easy over here looking at the Australia series," Latham said in a press conference yesterday. However, this side have come prepared, knowing that shot-making is not so easy in these conditions with more power needed off the bat due to the slower nature of the surfaces. They identified Mustafizur Rahman as a key threat while knowing that spinners will play a big part in the series for the Tigers.

"They have threats all around their group. We saw how well they played against Australia. They have some great spinners and experience in the group. Our batting will be challenged by their spinners. They have some fearless batsmen, who take the game head on," Latham said.

"We believe we can be successful in these conditions. Our goal is to win the series," he said.

Bangladesh captain Mahmudullah Riyad said that the best thing for them was the 'positive competition' in the side. The Australia series provided necessary belief with quite a few youngsters raising their hands and performing. "We have to show the same hunger we showed against Australia. If we can do that, keeping our focus, we will be able to improve," the captain said.

All five matches in the series will be played at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium which had not favoured batsmen recently. But with depth in the lower-middle order, the Tigers' think tank will be hoping that some key personnel can return amongst the runs and the team enjoys a spirited revival ahead of the World Cup.