Bangladesh and New Zealand will meet in M. A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Friday for the 11th match of the ICC World Cup 2023. The match will begin at 2:30 pm Bangladesh time on October 13, 2023. The Kiwis are in a good mood after winning two consecutive matches without the regular captain Williamson. They blew away the reigning world champions, England, in the opening match of the season. On the other hand, Bangladesh won in their first game of the season but faced a downturn in the second match against the reigning champions, England.
Preview of BAN vs. NZ ODI in ICC World Cup 2023
New Zealand has had a great start in World Cup 2023. In the first match, they defeated the world champion England by 9 wickets, and in the second match, they defeated the Netherlands by 99 runs. On the other hand, after defeating Afghanistan by 6 wickets in the first match, Bangladesh lost to England by 137 runs.
The match will be played on a spin-friendly pitch. And so, despite being in great form, New Zealand's tough batting lineup will have to be worried about this match against Bangladesh. On top of that, the Kiwis will also play against Afghanistan in this stadium. Nevertheless, 9 of the top 10 wicket-takers in the history of the Chidambaram Stadium are spinners. Legendary spinner Anil Kumble is at the top of that list with 48 wickets, and Harbhajan Singh on two with 42 wickets. So, New Zealand sees not only the Tigers but the Afghans as a challenge.
Read more: ICC World Cup 2023: Schedule, Fixtures, Venues, Team List
However, New Zealand has good news for their team. Kane Williamson might return to the field with the match against Bangladesh. The New Zealand captain is making great improvements towards that goal. Alongside him, veteran pacer Tim Southee is set to return against the Tigers. Williamson suffered a ligament injury during the last IPL game. And last month, Southee suffered an ankle injury during the tour of England. Like Williamson, he was also left out of the XI for the first two matches of the World Cup. New Zealand coach Gary Stead gave the news about the two stars on Wednesday. Both are fully ready to return to action after recovering from injuries.
Bangladesh, on the other hand, is likely to start with the regular team. Before the start of the World Cup, it was known that Bangladesh’s batting could suffer. But who thought that the spinners, the main weapon of Bangladesh bowling, would get stuck, which we saw in the last match against England? As Bangladesh's top and middle order suffered a disaster against England in Dharamsala on Tuesday, England also took advantage of their bowling weakness to score runs at a rate of more than 7.25 per over.
The only big news in Bangladesh's batting line-up in the last match is opener Litton Das' return to form. So, fans will keep an eye on him against the Kiwis. However, the loss against England surely reduces Bangladesh's confidence. But the spin-friendly stadium may raise some hope for the Tigers.
The New Zealand team visited Bangladesh on September 21-26 before the World Cup. New Zealand won the three-match series by 2-0. However, just as the Kiwis were not a full-strength team in this series, neither was Bangladesh. So, both teams have a bit of an idea about the opponent.
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BAN vs New Zealand Head to Head in ODI
New Zealand and Bangladesh have encountered each other in 41 matches. Among these, New Zealand secured victory in 30 games, while Bangladesh won 10 games. Additionally, one match concluded without a definitive result.
Table: BAN vs. NZ Head-to-Head ODI Matches So Far
| Matches | Bangladesh Won | New Zealand Won | No Result |
| 41 | 10 | 30 | 1 |
Predicted Playing XI for Bangladesh
Tanzid Hasan, Litton Das, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Shakib Al Hasan (c), Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Towhid Hridoy, Mahedi Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Mustafizur Rahman.
Read more: Analysis of Bangladesh Squad for ICC World Cup 2023
Predicted Playing XI for New Zealand
Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Kane Williamson (c), Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (wk), Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Matt Henry, Trent Boult.
Bangladeshi Players to Watch in BAN vs NZ Match
Litton Das
Litton played a decently fair inning in the last match against England. He scored 76 runs from 66 balls, which contained 7 fours and 2 sixes. So, Bangladeshi fans might keep some hope on him in the next match. However, Litton played 18 innings this year and scored 427 runs in total, while he played the best innings of the year in the last match.
Mushfiqur Rahim
Mushfique was the second-highest scorer in the last match. He scored 51 runs from 64 balls. This year, Mushfique played 17 innings so far and scored 648 runs in total. However, he could not get a chance to show his skill in the first match against the Afghans as Bangladesh reached the victory before that.
Mahedi Hasan
Mahedi grabbed four wickets in the last match, and he will surely be included in the next match, as it will be played in the spin-friendly stadium. So far, he played 9 matches for Bangladesh in ODI and took 12 wickets. However, he can also contribute with the bat, as he scored 103 runs in total from 8 innings.
Read more: ICC World Cup 2023 Venues: Cities and Stadiums in India
New Zealand Players to Watch in the BAN vs NZ Match
Mitchell Santner
The all-rounder has effectively established his position as a key player in the New Zealand squad. At 32 years old, he has consistently been the preferred bowler for his captain, Kane Williamson, especially in challenging situations. Notably, he delivered a pivotal spell during their semi final triumph over India in the 2019 Cricket World Cup. He also proved himself in this World Cup, as he grabbed 5 wickets against the Netherlands and two wickets against England.
Devon Conway
As Kane Williamson was unavailable for the first two matches, Devon Conway had a significant responsibility in the top order. And he did it pretty well with 152 runs against England and 32 runs against Netherlands. Considering his current form, the Kiwi opener will surely have an impact against Bangladesh.
Rachin Ravindra
By scoring 174 runs from two World Cup matches, Ravindra earned a great World Cup debut for Kiwis. This young batter played 10 innings and scored 363 runs, while his performance at the World Cup is a significant one.
Final Words
Considering the recent performance, New Zealand is a stronger team compared to Bangladesh. Furthermore, upon analyzing the performances of both teams in the ICC World Cup 2023, the Black Caps demonstrated an outstanding performance in two matches. So, Bangladesh will have less of a chance in the BAN vs. NZ ODI match on October 13, 2023.
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