Bangladesh will look forward to making a comeback in the race for the next phase of the Champions Trophy 2025 as they face New Zealand on Monday in Rawalpindi.
Bangladesh have a great memory of defeating New Zealand in 2017 when they faced New Zealand last time in the Champions Trophy.
The teams entering this match with contrasting experiences. In the first match, Bangladesh suffered a big defeat to India, while New Zealand made a flying start to their campaign by beating the hosts Pakistan.
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“From here we will come back stronger first,” Towhid Hridoy, who hit his maiden ODI ton in the last match against India, said after the match.
Bangladesh batters will have to pull themselves together to make a strong comeback. Especially, the top-order needs to fire as expected. In the first match, the top-order failed to deliver a good start.
Bangladeshi spinners can play a crucial role in this match on the slow surface of Rawalpindi, though, the wicket in this venue is traditionally friendly to the batters.
Bangladesh coach Phil Simmons believes the venue can produce high scores, and he said the Bangladesh team has the ability to score 300-plus totals.
“This is a big scoring ground and we have seen the score in Lahore yesterday,” Simmons said in the pre-match press conference. “So you are looking at big scores here. You are looking at 300 plus here.”
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Bangladesh’s batting concern has been a consistent problem. But the coach said he has belief in the team.
“In the last five matches, we have gone to 300 a couple of times. So, we have the ability to do it. In the last game, we didn't start well and we got to 200. so as long as we start well, we can get there,” he added.
Mitchell Santner, the New Zealand captain, said they are not taking Bangladesh lightly.
“It's a team we are not taking lightly for sure. We know we have got to be on, and on these big events, they can upset any team on their day. So, hopefully it's not us,” Santner said.
Bangladesh faced New Zealand in 45 ODIs, and they have won 11 matches.