Tigers aim to bounce back

Bangladesh head coach Chandika Hathurusingha was the first to enter Chennai's MA Chidambaram Stadium, popularly known as the Chepauk Stadium, ahead of yesterday's training session.

The Sri Lankan approached the pitch to have a better look, followed by technical consultant Sridharan Sriram, who was spotted conversing with the pitch curator. Soon after, pace-bowling coach Allan Donald and team director Khaled Mahmud converged at the center, where the four masterminds of the Bangladesh team were in the midst of a discussion.

It was not hard to guess the topic of conversation, given that Bangladesh's World Cup match against New Zealand is anticipated to be a battle of spin. 

The Tigers' training session yesterday was optional, and captain Shakib Al Hasan, Liton Das, and Mustafizur Rahman chose to rest.

The first fixture at this venue of the ongoing World Cup saw Australia getting all out for just 199 runs before suffering a six-wicket defeat against hosts India.

Indian spin trio of Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, and Ravichandran Ashwin ran riot, having combined to take six wickets for 104 runs in 30 overs to set up the victory.

The Chepauk Stadium is historically known as a spinner's paradise, featuring low-scoring encounters. The average first-innings total at this ground is 240.95 in 24 matches.

Familiar pitches would aid the Bangladeshi spinners but there still exists a few concerning areas for Shakib and his troops against a high-flying New Zealand side, who won their first two matches with a lot of authority.

Young Tanzid Hasan failed to make an impact in both games, and the inconsistent Bangladesh top-order will once again remain under the scanner. The Tigers cannot afford a misfiring top-order if they want to bounce back following a 137-run defeat to England after starting off their campaign on the right note, with a six-wicket drubbing of Afghanistan.

On the bowling front, it will be interesting to see whether the team management includes an extra spin option alongside Shakib, Mehedi Hasan Miraz and Mahedi Hasan. The pace unit also needs to fire after a rather below-par show with the new ball in the first two games.

New Zealand, on the other hand, will have their regular skipper Kane Williamson return after a knee injury ruled him out for six months.

Williamson comes back at a good time as their top-order batters – the likes of Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra -- enjoy a red-hot form.

New Zealand have ample strength in the spin department. Left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner leads wicket-takers chart in the ongoing tournament. He has good company in Ish Sodhi -- who picked up six wickets against Bangladesh last month to register his best ODI bowling figures – while the likes of Glenn Phillips and Williamson can chip in with good effect.