Bangladesh and New Zealand will lock horns today in the 3rd and final clash of the three-match T20i series at Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui. Tigers with 1-0 lead, have no chance of losing the series and they are optimistic to seal the title today while the Blackcaps are desperate to avoid a whitewash.
The match is scheduled to commence at 6:00 am (BST).
Bangladesh is reverting to the earlier eleven that ensured a historic T20i win in New Zealand on December 27. Liton Das, who was dropped due to injury concerns in the second game that was washed away, is fully fit to play today. Shamim Patowari, who fielded for 11 overs in the previous game, therefore, is set to sit idle again.
Liton, in good form with the bat and played the anchors role in the earlier game, will be key to build Bangladeshs strong foundation with the bat today. Rony Talukdar, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Soumya Sarkar and Tawhid Hridoy all need to continue from where they left off. Afif Hossain Dhrubo will continue as the finisher unless the team management decides otherwise to go with Shamim.
Mehidy Hasan Miraz will remain sidelined as Sheikh Mahedi, the Player of the Match in the series opener is expected to shine again today. Leg-spinner Rishad Hossain, handy in both earlier matches is ready to challenge the hosts once again, joining the pacers trio Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam and Tanzim Hasan Sakib.
On the contrary, the hosts opener Tim Seifert was very aggressive in the second match of the series scoring 43 off 23 at this very ground and might be a big threat for Bangladesh bowlers today as well. Finn Allen, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman and James Neesham need to shine to avoid the clean sweep.
Skipper Mitchell Santner, Adam Milne, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi and Ben Sears are expected to continue with the ball for the Blackcaps.
Like the earlier game, the main threat for uninterrupted cricket is downpour with heavy wind in Mount Maunganui today. Though it seems lighter today and the venue typically offers assistance to batters with substantial help for pacers in the earlier part of the game.
Considering the overcast conditions and the nature of the wicket, the toss-winning skipper is likely to prefer batting first to set a challenging total.
