World Cup

Tigers upbeat ahead of New Zealand clash

Tigers upbeat ahead of New Zealand clash

After a flying start in the ICC Men’s World Cup beating South Africa, Bangladesh are now upbeat ahead of their match against New Zealand on Wednesday at the Oval, London.

The match will start at 6:30pm (BdST), and will be broadcast live by Maasranga, Gtv, and Btv. Cricket fans can also watch the game live on Rabbithole (rabbitholebd.com) and Bioscope (bioscopelive.com).

In the first match on June 2 against South Africa, ranked number three in the latest ICC ODI ranking, Tigers were clinical both with the ball and bat. With the help of two brilliant knocks by Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim, Bangladesh posted 330 runs while batting first .They restricted the Proteas for 309 runs to seal the game by 21 runs.

Tigers are optimistic about replicating the same performance against New Zealand, who beat Sri Lanka in their first game by 10 wickets. The Kiwis, the current runners-up of the World Cup, also proved that they are more than capable of going all the way in the tournament.

In the first game, Shakib inspired the Tigers to seal the game hitting a fifty, and then returned with bowling figures of 1/50 in 10 overs. He won the man of the match award – his first in the World Cups. Shakib believes they are well equipped to win the battle against the Kiwis as well.

“We came to this World Cup wanting to do well. We’re well prepared and confident enough to take on the challenge but at the same time, we’re relaxed. We know we’ve the ability and required skillset to beat the big teams,” Shakib told the media.

The number one all-rounder said: “I think that we’re in a good place, mentally. I think if we can continue in this manner, we can go a long way in the tournament.”

Shakib has the experience of upsetting New Zealand in the ICC Champions Trophy back in 2017 in England when he struck a hundred to beat the Kiwis chasing 265 runs after losing four wickets just in 33 runs. In the fourth wicket stand, Shakib and Mahmudullah Riyad added 224 runs to secure the game. Both of Shakib and Mahmudullah are in good touch as they hit 75 and 46 respectively.

Bangladesh have played four matches against New Zealand in the World Cups and failed to win any of them. Apart from the World Cup, Bangladesh faced New Zealand in 34 matches and came up victorious in 10 of them. However, in the last meet, Bangladesh lost three ODIs on the trot to the Kiwis.