ICC World Cup 2019 | Bangladesh’s predicted XI for match against New Zealand

ByDaniel Arambur, SportsCafe Editor

06/05/2019

After a convincing 21-run win against South Africa on Sunday, Bangladesh will be beaming with confidence as they prepare to play their second match at the ongoing World Cup. Mashrafe Mortaza-led Bangladesh will take on 2015 ICC WC runners-up New Zealand at the Kennington Oval on Wednesday.

Openers

Soumya Sarkar

Sarkar had a great outing against South Africa in Bangladesh’s opening World Cup tie on Sunday as he scored 42 from 30 balls at a strike rate of 140. Skipper Mashrafe Mortaza will hope his opener can deliver once again in the match against New Zealand.

Tamim Iqbal

Iqbal failed to cross the 20-run mark against Faf du Plessis & Co. but will back himself to put in a strong performance against the Kiwis at the Oval. Averaging 36.15 from 194 ODIs, Iqbal certainly has the ability to play the big shots at the top of the batting order and will cause the Kiwi pace attack a variety of problems.

Middle-order

Shakib Al Hasan

The immensely skilled all-rounder proved his worth in the game against the Proteas by scoring 75 off 84 deliveries to give his side the momentum in the middle overs. He has impressed at number three in recent months and will hope to continue the same in the match against New Zealand.

Mushfiqur Rahim(WK)

Rahim, along with Shakib, put up a good show with the bat which ensured that Bangladesh could register a major upset in the ongoing World Cup. Rahim top-scored with 78 and will hope to build on that performance on Wednesday.

Mohammad Mithun

With an average of 31.5, Mithun will certainly back himself to perform well in the middle order for the Bangladesh national team. Mithun scored 21 against SA but will hope to better on that tally against the 2015 ICC World Cup runners-up.

Mahmudullah

Mahmudullah helped Bangladesh touch the 330-run mark with a quickfire 46* scoring at a strike rate of 139.39. He will play the role of a finisher for Bangladesh for the rest of the tournament and will hope to repeat his antics on Wednesday at the Oval.

All-rounders

Mosaddek Hossain

23-year old Mosaddek Hossain is known to play some big shots down the batting order as he demonstrated against South Africa in the dying stages of the first innings. Hossain is effective on the field and can also do well in the middle overs as he did in the first game on the weekend.

Mehidy Hasan

Hasan, still aged 21, has a bright future ahead of him with the national team and will hope to live up to the expectations and impress at the ongoing World Cup in England. Traditionally a bowling all-rounder, Hasan has 30 wickets from 29 ODIs for Bangladesh and also picked up the key wicket of SA skipper Faf du Plessis in the opening game.

Mohammad Saifuddin

Another promising youngster in the Bangladesh side, Saifuddin has made himself a key player in the lower batting order of the national team. Handy with the ball and agile on the field, the 22-year-old will definitely be involved in the all-important clash against New Zealand.

Pacers

Mustafizur Rahman

Rahman’s importance in the Bangladesh bowling attack cannot be downplayed as was evident in the win against South Africa. Rahman ended the night with figures of 3/67 from his 10 overs and will play an essential role in keeping the New Zealand top order quiet during today’s game.

Mashrafe Mortaza(C)

Under Mortaza’s captaincy, Bangladesh have caused some major upsets and seem to be brimming with confidence on the international stage. An economy rate of 4.83 from 210 ODIs is no mean feat and Mortaza will be vital to limiting the New Zealand batting line-up from scoring big at the Oval.