Bangladesh kicked off the World Cup with a stunning victory over South Africa on June 2. Now, they are all set to take on New Zealand today at 6:30pm (BST).
The Bangladesh coach said the win in their tournament opener set the tone for the Tigers to play a good brand of cricket. “We’re very happy with the victory over South Africa. However, we still have eight matches to go. At the same time, we know the people back home are delighted with the result of the first game,” Rhodes told the media.
“We’re on a better shape now to take them (New Zealand) this time around. At the same time, we know the task against New Zealand will be a tough one,” he said.
Bangladesh have a good memory to beat the Kiwis in the last ICC Champions Trophy in England when they lost four wickets while chasing 266 runs. Shakib Al Hasan and Mahmudullah Riyad came in and made up a stand of 224 runs to chase the target.
Rhodes believes that was a memory which can inspire them again in another clash against New Zealand.
Before coming to this match, New Zealand beat Sri Lanka in their first World Cup match by 10 wickets. However, given to the strength of the current set-up of Sri Lanka, that result was not much shocking for them.