Bangladesh and New Zealand will meet in the third and final T20I at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur on Saturday at 2pm local time, with Bangladesh leading the series 1-0 and the second match having been washed out in Chattogram.
Rain is also forecast in Dhaka, and Bangladesh’s preparations on the eve of the match remained in doubt before officials confirmed an outdoor session. New Zealand completed a full afternoon practice and both sides are now set for the decider.
A washout would still hand Bangladesh the series, but the home team has made clear it wants to finish the job on the field. Their first-match win against a young New Zealand line-up signalled progress in T20Is, and the hosts believe consistency in performance is more valuable than a result decided by the weather.
Shamim Hossain, one of the match-winners in the first T20I with a quickfire 31 not out, said Bangladesh want to repeat the same template. “[In the first match] we were able to play well and show intent, and we want to maintain that in the next match,” he said.
The intent reference matters because Bangladesh’s chase of 183 was built on aggressive middle-overs hitting from Tawhid Hridoy, Parvez Hossain Emon and Shamim himself. Repeating that pattern at Mirpur, on a slower surface, will be a different challenge, especially against New Zealand’s spin pair of Ish Sodhi and Ben Lister.
“We have a good chance to win the series. Of course we will look to play to win,” Shamim added.
The line is straightforward but it confirms the team’s preferred outcome. Bangladesh do not want to share the series after the washout in Chattogram, and Shamim’s framing matches the captain’s tone earlier in the week.
New Zealand can no longer win the series. A win on Saturday would only level the series at 1-1, and all-rounder Dean Foxcroft, fronting the visitors’ press conference, said his side want to use the gap since the first match to correct their errors. “The last match was cancelled because of rain. Coming here, we have a chance to level the series. The mood in the camp is good and everyone is positive. After the first match we had a few days to think. We did many things well in that match, but in some areas we could not control our bowling and batting properly,” he said.
“As a team we have tried to fix our mistakes, and we know which areas we need to improve in. We have practice today and hopefully we will be ready for tomorrow,” he added.
The squad question hanging over New Zealand is the captaincy. Tom Latham, ruled out of the first match with a right foot injury, did not train on the eve of the third T20I, which makes it unlikely he will play. Stand-in captain Nick Kelly is therefore expected to lead the side again, with the dressing room broadly settled despite three debutants in the touring group.
