Tigers to face Black Caps in 1st T20 today

Touring Bangladesh will face New Zealand in the first match of their three-match T20 series at the McLean Park, Napier today (Tuesday), reports UNB.

The match will begin at 12:00 pm Bangladesh time.

This will be Mashrafe Bin Mortaza's 50th T20 and the Bangladesh team will be looking to seal their maiden victory against New Zealand in the shortest format of cricket in their 5th meeting since 2010.

Mashrafe expressed the hope that his side will avoid repeating mistakes they made in the ODI series where the hosts whitewashed Bangladesh by 3-0 margin.

Bangladesh's key player all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan said, "We can clear boundaries here since they are not really that big. It is more important to make sure that we extend our innings after making a start."

As an experienced player, Shakib must look forward to regaining consistency for reviving the Tigers' confidence in the three-match series.

Bangladesh and New Zealand last played a T20I in March 2016 in the World T20, India.

The Tigers are going to miss a few players from that squad. Mohammad Mithun and Al-Amin Hossain are not in the touring party while Mushfiqur Rahim is recovering from a hamstring injury. Taskin Ahmed and Imrul Kayes could take the place of Al-Amin and Mithun, while Mosaddek Hossain is likely to play ahead of Shuvagata Hom in the XI. The other face included in the best eleven is Taijul Islam.

Meanwhile, the home side formed a strong line-up, including uncapped batsman Tom Bruce, who has a strike rate of 156 in T20s, is expected to bolster the middle order with Corey Anderson and Colin Munro. All-rounder Ben Wheeler, who played six ODIs between June and August 2015, was picked in the squad along with Neil Broom, who was brought in as a replacement for injured Martin Guptill.

With Trent Boult rested for the first match, New Zealand could play both Lockie Ferguson and Matt Henry.

Bangladesh (probable): Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Sabbir Rahman, Shakib Al Hasan, Mahmudullah Riyad , Mosaddek Hossain, Nurul Hasan, Mashrafe Bin Mortaza (captain), Taijul Islam, Taskin Ahmed and Mustafizur Rahman.

New Zealand (probable): Kane Williamson (captain), Neil Broom, Colin Munro, Corey Anderson, Tom Bruce, Luke Ronchi, Jimmy Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Lockie Ferguson and Matt Henry.