New Zealand complete their tour of Bangladesh on Friday when the two sides meet in the fifth and final T20 match in Dhaka. The series might be gone from a competitive standpoint but there is still plenty to play for here.
Both countries have named their squads for next month’s World T20 tournament so those who haven’t been playing and are in those lists will be eager to get some game time here to show their worth ahead of the event.
Bangladesh
This has been an incredible run of results for Bangladesh, who have now beaten Australia and New Zealand in series over the last month or so. They haven’t just beaten them both but they have done it emphatically and as I’ve said throughout both series, you can throw the argument at them that they have conditions to suit and plenty going for them but at the end of the day they will have to perform in them and win and they have done exactly that.
Their bowlers have been fantastic in this series in particular so far but what will encourage them is one or two batsman seem to have adjusted to conditions and are now starting to deliver the goods. The strike rate might not necessarily be anything to write home about but getting the job done is the overall aim, not necessarily looking flashy. Bangladesh are likely to make changes for this match so their bench depth will be interesting to monitor.
New Zealand
The fact New Zealand have been as competitive as they have in the last three matches in this series is a credit to them. When you look at their World T20 squad there are few in it who are here as well so clearly their priority isn’t on these matches. They are going to use the return of the IPL as their preparation and that is probably a fair enough plan when you consider the remainder of that tournament is being held on the same pitches as the World T20.
There is always a future though and once that World T20 has been and gone some of the players on show in this series will be looking to force their way in for future tournaments. There might be little to play with right now but if the players involved look at the bigger picture then they shouldn’t find it hard to be motivated. They need to find a way to rotate the strike a little bit more with the bat in hand but to be fair they haven’t crumbled completely without trace and that is to their credit.
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Team News
Bangladesh haven’t rung the chances during this series yet but that is expected to change here because the likes of Shakib-al-Hasan and Mustafizur Rahman among the players who are likely to get a rest in this match.
New Zealand will probably want to keep their side intact and attempt to leave Bangladesh with a win which will boost their confidence for the cricket to come. There is a question mark over Tom Blundell so they might be forced into a change.
Betting
I’m never one for getting involved in these dead rubbers where changes are inevitable as far as the match outcome is concerned. I guess some big players are going to sit out for Bangladesh which probably makes New Zealand value even in these conditions but I’d still like to see just how weak Bangladesh are before I was to pull a trigger on that sort of bet. As it is there is another one I like so I’ll target that one here instead.
That comes in the form of the player performance of the Bangladesh captain Mahmudullah which looks very low at 24.5 when you consider he is going to bat in middle order for his side and he’ll bowl. His impact on the game might be stronger if Shakib is left out here because he could fill the void for him. Even if he doesn’t he has scores of 14, 3, 37 and 43 in the series and he has bowled in every game as well. As captain he’ll field where it counts so this line might well be on the low side in this one.
Tips
Back Mahmudullah’s Performance – Over 24.5 points for a 3/10 stake at 1.80 with Bet365
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