Tigers looks to avoid ODI whitewash

Buoyed by their improved performance, Bangladesh are looking forward to breaking the jinx of losing streak in New Zealand as they will lock horns with the hosts in the third and final fixture of the three-match ODI in Wellington today.

The match will start at 4:00am (Bangladesh Standard Time) and will be aired live telecast at the country’s private satellite television channels Gazi Television and T-Sports channel along with state-owned Bangladesh Television (BTV).

The Black Caps had already won the three-match series 2-0, following their eight-wicket and five-wicket victories in the first two matches, leaving Bangladesh still win-less on Kiwi soil. With those two defeats, Bangladesh’s losing-streak on New Zealand soil stretched to 28 (14 ODIs, 9 Tests and 4 T20Is).

Despite their dismal record, Tigers came here this time with renewed confidence, largely due to their superb performance in the ODI cricket. But they couldn’t figure out as to how they could win against the Kiwis in their backyard.

The tourists were merely outclassed in the first match as they were shot out for 131 runs and conceded an eight-wicket defeat. In the second match, they sensed a victory after racking up 271-6 and reducing New Zealand to 53-3 in the 11th over. But the sloppy fielding, coupled with missing some important catches in the crucial period of the match cost them heavily.

The visitors might lose the second game but that indeed boosted their confidence to great degree that they could beat New Zealand for the first time on their soil. On paper the third game might be a dead-rubber but as the series is the part of ICC ODI Super League, which will determine International team’s direct entry into the 2023 World Cup in India, there is nothing called dead-rubber.

In case of a victory, Bangladesh will not just avoid the whitewash but also gain 10 valuable points and 10 points on foreign soil means they will take a giant leap towards the direct entry to the 2023 World Cup.

But 10 points or avoiding whitewash is not in the mind of Bangladesh players, rather they are desperate to win a match in New Zealand.

As Bangladesh ODI captain Tamim Iqbal said, they should stop talking about the improvements and concentrate only to win the game.

“We are not here to make improvements, we are here to win the match,” said Tamim Iqbal, who was the highest scorer for Bangladesh with 78 in the second game. Alongside him, Mohammad Mithun also stood up with a belligerent 57 ball-73 not out.

“As a team, we definitely want to win at least one match here. If we win just one game, it will be a good success for us. There is still an ODI to go and we will give our best. I think we still could win a game,” Mithun said, echoing Tamim’s voice.

Even though Bangladesh so far has not won any game on New Zealand soil, stat suggested they have been successful against this opponent, at least in ODI cricket. Apart from West Indies and Zimbabwe, New Zealand is the other team against whom Bangladesh’s win record reached double digit figures. Out of 37 games that they played against New Zealand Bangladesh won 10 matches and lost so far 27.

But all of those 10 victories came against New Zealand in neutral venues or in Bangladesh in 22 meetings, which meant, outside of New Zealand, Bangladesh remained a tough opposition for the Kiwis always.

Caption: Bangladesh caption Tamim Iqbal and his New Zealand’s stand-in counterpart Tom Latham are answering the media questions, a day prior to the third fixture of the three-match ODI series in Wellington on Wednesday. PHOTO: BCB