THE KIWI-TIGER RIVALRY

The World Test Championship (WTC) finalists New Zealand will be hosting the WTC’s lowest-ranked team Bangladesh in March-April 2021. Bangladesh will be travelling for the first time since the pandemic hit the world to play 3 ODIs followed by 3 T20Is against the Kiwis. The New Zealand team will be high on the success after beating their arch-rivals Australia 3-2 in a 5-match T20Is series. The scenario is exactly the opposite in the Bangladesh clan after getting whitewashed in a 2-Tests series against the West Indies B team at home. Let’s have a look at how the Kiwi-Tiger rivalry has panned out over the years.

HISTORY

Both teams have faced each other 57 times in all formats of cricket. New Zealand has clearly dominated all the formats by winning 44 times against their Asian rivals. Bangladesh, on the other hand, has seen the victory in 10 matches.

A) ODI Rivalry

New Zealand and Bangladesh met in the ODIs for the first time in April 1990 at Sharjah for the Austral-Asia cup. Playing first New Zealand put a score of 338 runs on the board with the help of Andrew Jones and then captain John Wright’s 93 runs each. Chasing the target, Bangladesh barely managed to get 177 runs for the loss of 5 wickets in 50 overs. Nine years later both teams met again in the ICC World Cup 1999. New Zealand successfully beat Bangladesh again by 6 wickets in the group stage at Chelmsford.

Since then, both teams started facing each other at a regular interval of time. It took 18 years and 12 games for Bangladesh to register their first win against New Zealand. On 9 Oct 2008, Bangladesh beat New Zealand by 7 wickets in the first ODI of the series at Dhaka.

2010-2013 Bangladeshi Domination:

Between October 2010 to November 2013, Bangladesh hosted New Zealand twice. Bangladesh turned the tables towards them by winning the first 5-match ODI series by winning 4-0 (one ODI was abandoned) at Dhaka. They whitewashed New Zealand 3-0 in 2013 to extend their winning streak to seven.

But the domination of Bangladesh lasted for a short time. New Zealand won 9 out of the 11 games played after their four years of suffering.

Key Stat: Bangladesh has never managed to win an ODI in New Zealand.

Stats:

ODIs Played: 35 - New Zealand (25), Bangladesh (10)

ICC World Cup: 5 - New Zealand (5), Bangladesh (0)

B) Test Rivalry

New Zealand hosted Bangladesh to play 2 tests in 2001. New Zealand started their rivalry against Bangladesh in the 5-day format on a winning note. Bangladesh came close to register their first win against New Zealand in 2008 at Chattogram. Chasing the target of 317 in the 4th innings Bangladesh needed five wickets with two sessions to go. But then New Zealand Captain Daniel Vettori broke Bangladesh’s heart by scoring 76 runs and helping New Zealand win by 3 wickets in the final few overs of the Test.

Key Stat: Bangladesh has not won a Test against New Zealand

Stats:

Tests Played (15): New Zealand (12), Bangladesh (0), and Draw (3).

C) T20I Rivalry

New Zealand hosted Bangladesh for a T20Is in February 2010. They beat the visitors comfortably by 10 wickets. In ICC T20 World Cup both teams have come across twice with an outcome on New Zealand’s side.

Key Stat: New Zealand has a 100% winning record in T20Is against Bangladesh.

T20I played (7): New Zealand (7), Bangladesh (0)

World cup T20I (2): New Zealand (2), Bangladesh (0)

Upcoming series

We will take a look at the upcoming Bangladesh tour of New Zealand that will take place in several venues across New Zealand. A total of six games will be played ( 3 x ODIs and 3 T20Is) in the period between March 20th and 1st April.

ODI Series: (20-26 March)

The 3-match ODI series will kick off on 20the March at Dunedin. The series was pushed back by a week to allow the visitors an adequate preparation time in the current Covid crisis. The series will be a part of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League. Bangladesh is currently standing at the second position in the points table with 30 points in 3 matches. A win can take Bangladesh to the top spot in the points table. New Zealand has yet to start its campaign to qualify for the ICC World Cup 2023 through the Super League. A series win will move New Zealand to the top five spots in the points table.

Bangladesh Cricket Board announced a 20-men squad for the ODI & T20I series. They left out left-arm spinner Taijul Islam and have opted to go with Mosaddek Hossain after his stellar performance in the 2020 Bangabandhu T20 Cup. They have also left Aminul Islam from their last T20I squad. Bangladesh will be missing their most valuable player Shakib Al Hasan who has been granted paternity leave. Shakib made a successful comeback against West Indies at home after a one-year ban for not reporting a match-fixing approach.

New Zealand announced a 13-men squad for the ODI series. Tom Latham has been awarded the captaincy of the team under the absence of regular captain Kane Williamson. Williamson suffered an elbow injury in the T20I series against Australia. New Zealand has also given a maiden call-up to Devon Conway, Will Young, and Daryl Mitchell. In the recent turn of events, Ross Taylor will be missing the first ODI after picking a hamstring tear during a Plunkett Shield game. Mark Chapman has been called up as a cover.

The recent ODI suggests betting on New Zealand will be the safest decision.

Last 5 ODIs between New Zealand & Bangladesh: NZ NZ NZ NZ Ban

Last 5 ODIs for New Zealand: L W W W L (Tied)

Last 5 ODIs for Bangladesh: W W W W W

T20I Series: (28 March - 1 April)

The T20I series will commence from 28th March at Hamilton. The series is looked at as a preparation for the upcoming world cup. New Zealand is yet to announce the squad for the T20 series.

Betting on New Zealand as they are playing at home with a 100% winning record against Bangladesh will be the wisest decision one can ever make.

Last 5 T20Is between New Zealand & Bangladesh: NZ NZ NZ NZ NZ

Last 5 T20Is for New Zealand: W L L W W

Last 5 T20Is for Bangladesh: W W L L L

New Zealand Squad for ODIs: Tom Latham (c) (wk), Trent Boult, Martin Guptill, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Henry Nicholls, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Devon Conway, Will Young, Mark Chapman (for the 1st ODI as a replacement of Ross Taylor).

New Zealand Squad for T20Is: yet to announce

Bangladesh Squad for ODIs & T20Is: Tamim Iqbal, Mosaddek Hossain, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mohammad Mithun, Liton Das, Mahmudullah, Afif Hossain, Soumya Sarkar, Naim Sheikh, Taskin Ahmed, Al Amin Hossain, Shoriful Islam, Hasan Mahmud, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mustafizur Rahman, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Rubel Hossain, Mahedi Hasan, Nasum Ahmed

Betting Odds

According to 10CRIC that provide the best betting odds, the chances are very tough for Bangladesh against New Zealand away from home. New Zealand has the winning odds of 1.06 while Bangladesh is placed at 10.0 for the ODI series. T20I odds are not available yet.

Conclusion

New Zealand has never let Bangladesh win a single match in any format of the game at home. After thumping Australia in the T20I series, they are looked to continue their success against Bangladesh. The dominating stats and the recent form conclude New Zealand to win both the series.