New Zealand Women vs Bangladesh Women, ICC Womens T20 World Cup 2020, Today Match Prediction 29 Feb 2020

nzw vs banw Match Prediction & Analysis

New Zealand Women will be looking to get back to winning ways when they face Bangladesh women in the 13th match of ICC Women's T20 World Cup played at Junction Oval in Melbourne on Saturday.

New Zealand fell agonizingly short of a win against India on Thursday, will strive for a clinical performance against Bangladesh women. Captain Sophie Devine will know that the side has to win this game at all costs in order to keep their semifinal hopes alive.

On the other hand, Bangladesh has suffered back-to-back defeats in the competition and will face an uphill battle when they lock horns with a strong side like New Zealand. In the previous game, Bangladesh suffered 86-run against Australia at Manuka Oval.

TEAMS PREVIEW

New Zealand Women Preview

Sophie Devine-led unit suffered their first defeat of the competition. New Zealand put up a valiant effort and lost the game by just three runs. In the game against India, New Zealand bowlers delivered another disciplined performance. Lea Tahuhu, Rosemary Mair and Amelia Kerr put in decent performances to restrict India to a modest score of 133 runs in their allotted 20 overs.

Leg-spinner Amelia Kerr was the standout bowler on display for New Zealand women. She picked up two wickets and conceded 21 runs in his four overs. Medium-pacer Rosemary Mair claimed two wickets, while Lea Tahuhu, Sophie Devine and Leigh Kasperek picked one wicket each.

Chasing 134 runs for victory, Rachel Priest and Sophie Devine failed to capitalize on their decent starts. All-rounder Sophie Devine suffered a rare failure and scored 14 runs off 21 balls with the help of two fours. Suzie Bates poor form continued in this game as he was clean bowled by Deepti Sharma to see New Zealand women in deep trouble at 34 for 3 in 8.1 overs.

Maddy Green and Katey Martins led the fightback for New Zealand and put on a 43-run partnership for the fourth-wicket. Green played well and scored 24 runs off 23 balls with the help of two fours and one six, whereas Martins chipped in with 25 runs off 28 balls with the help of three boundaries.

Bowling all-rounder Amelia Kerr produced valiant innings to take the game down to the wire. She scored unbeaten 34 runs off 19 balls with the help of six boundaries.  Amelia was well supported by Hayley Jensen, who scored 11 runs off 7 deliveries.

New Zealand Women Predicted Playing XI:

Sophie Devine (c), Rachel Priest (wk), Suzie Bates, Maddy Green, Katey Martin, Amelia Kerr, Hayley Jensen, Anna Peterson, Leigh Kasperek, Lea Tahuhu, Rosemary Mair

New Zealand Women Actual Playing XI:

Anna Peterson, Leigh Kasperek, Hayley Jensen, Lea Tahuhu, Maddy Green, Amelia Kerr, Suzie Bates, Katey Martin, Sophie Devine, Rachel Priest, Rosemary Mair

Bangladesh Women Preview

Captain Salma Khatun will be hoping that the side can produce a strong fight against New Zealand Women. A defeat in this game will see them become the first team to get eliminated from the ICC Women's T20 World Cup.

In the batting department, the side will be depending on the likes of Murshida Khatun, wicket-keeper Nigar Sultana and Fargana Hoque to produce the bulk of the runs. In the game played against Australia, Murshida Khatun failed to produce a big score for the side.

Wicket-keeper Nigar Sultana and Fargana Hoque put on a 50-run partnership for Bangladesh Women. Fargana Hoque was the standout performer with the bat and finished the innings with the top-score of 36 runs off 35 balls with the help of four boundaries. Nigar Sultana played a supporting role to Fargana and chipped in with 19 runs off 32 balls with the help of two boundaries.

On the bowling front, the onus will be on the likes of Jahanara Alam, Nahida Akter and Salma Khatun to make crucial breakthroughs. The bowling unit has lacked potency and struggled to create breakthroughs in the previous game played against Australia Women.

Bangladesh Women Predicted Playing XI:

Salma Khatun (c), Nigar Sultana (wk), Nahida Akter, Khadija Tul Kubra, Shamima Sultana, Murshida Khatun, Sanjida Islam, Fargana Hoque, Rumana Ahmed, Fahima Khatun, Jahanara Alam.

Bangladesh Women Actual Playing XI:

Jahanara Alam, Fahima Khatun, Sobhana Mostary, Murshida Khatun, Panna Ghosh, Ayasha Rahman, Salma Khatun, Fargana Hoque, Rumana Ahmed, Ritu Moni, Nigar Sultana

PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS

Weather Conditions

The wicket prepared at Junction Oval is expected to provide a decent contest between bat and ball. The weather forecast for the game to be played on Saturday is expected to have thick clouds.

Venue Details

The Junction Oval in Melbourne is going to host the 13th match of ICC Women's T20 World Cup between New Zealand Women and Bangladesh.

Interestingly, New Zealand Women have never played a T20I game against Bangladesh Women.

Toss: To Bowl

With the overcast  conditions  expected for the game, the side that wins the toss might look to exploit the pitch conditions. The last game played at Junction Oval was won by side batting first.