Bangladesh eye second clean sweep

Having bagged the series in the second match in Mirpur on Thursday, Bangladesh are under no pressure but New Zealand will seek nothing but solace ahead of the dead rubber on Sunday.

Sports Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 2 Nov 2013, 04:03 PM
Updated : 2 Nov 2013, 04:03 PM

The hosts wrapped up the three-ODI series winning the second match by 40 runs followed by a 43-run D/L win in the first match.

The visitors’ second match defeat marked their sixth consecutive loss against a side who also mauled them 4-0 in a five-ODI home series back in 2010.

Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium in Fatulla, which has not hosted an ODI since 2006, will feature the third match starting at 9:15 am.

“Tomorrow we will repeat our effort of the first two games. We want to put up a better performance, because New Zealand will try harder tomorrow,” Mashrafe Bin Mortaza said on Saturday.

Mashrafee, who had ripped through the batting line of the visitors to seal the series in the last ODI, was speaking at a pre-match press conference at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.

“We are not relaxed and cannot be. First, we haven't become a big international side that we can relax after winning a series. Second, we have places to work on. We have something to learn after every game,” the pacer continued.

However, New Zealand are looking for a consolation win.

“We want to make it 2-1, which sounds better than 3-0. If we can get momentum and confidence from tomorrow and hopefully take it to Sri Lanka...” Ross Taylor said on the eve of the final match.

Kyle Mills will lead the side as their regular captain Brendon McCullum is out with a sore back.

Luke Ronchi is likely to replace McCullum.

Bangladesh coach Shane Jurgensen spoke of the heavy workload of some players of his side which can lead to absence of Rubel Hossain and Mashrafe while Tamim Iqbal has reported abdominal pain.

PROBABLE SQUADS:

Bangladesh: Tamim Iqbal/Anamul Haque, Shamsur Rahman, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim (captain & wk), Naeem Islam, Nasir Hossain, Mahmudullah, Sohag Gazi, Abdur Razzak, Mashrafe Mortaza/Al-Amin Hossain, Rubel Hossain/Ziaur Rahman

New Zealand: Anton Devcich, Hamish Rutherford, Grant Elliott, Ross Taylor, Luke Ronchi, Corey Anderson, Jimmy Neesham, Tom Latham (wk), Nathan McCullum, Tim Southee, Kyle Mills (captain)