High-flying Tigers now eyeing historic series win against NZ

Agency :
Confident Bangladesh will face hosts New Zealand (NZ) in the second of the two-match Test series today at Hagley Oval in Christchurch. Bangladesh are 1-0 up in the series after winning the opening game by an astounding eight wickets at Mount Maunganui last week.
With the victory over the Test world champions, Bangladesh achieved their first victory in New Zealand in any format of cricket, as well as their first Test victory against the Kiwis in 16 attempts. Bangladesh’s victory is their first against a top-five ranked opponent away from home, and only their sixth in 61 games.
The match starts at 4 PM (Bangladesh Standard Time) and will be aired live on Gazi TV and T Sports.
Bangladesh won the first Test by eight wickets, which was their first Test victory against New Zealand and also their first victory on New Zealand soil in 33 attempts across three formats.
With youthful opener Mahmudul Hasan Joy ruled out of the series owing to a finger injury, Bangladesh will almost certainly make one alteration in the playing XI. Uncapped left-handed batters Fazle Mahmud and Mohammad Naim are two alternatives for Joy’s replacement.
Fazle is a left-arm spinner with 94 first-class matches to his belt. Naim, on the other hand, has only 32 first-class games under his belt, the last of which was in February 2020.
Bangladesh are brimming with confidence to win the second Test also after such a groundbreaking performance in the first game in which everyone had a handy contribution. But Ebadot Hossain made him obvious after a prolonged bad form in this format. His six for 46, which was a second best figure by a Bangladeshi pacer and best figure by a Bangladeshi pacer on foreign soil, was instrumental in the eight-wicket victory.
New Zealand’s experienced batter Ross Taylor said the Christchurch conditions would suit them more than Bangladesh.
“They were patient, they brought the stumps into play, they made us hit straight down the ground and a lot of our players probably haven’t faced reverse swing for a majority of their careers,” Taylor said.
“It’s probably only been sporadic in the domestic circuit. And they bowled very well with it. Got it going both ways. But here, in Christchurch, the conditions will suit us a lot more than they probably did in Mount Maunganui.”
Ross Taylor had already announced his retirement after the end of this cricket season. After this Test series, New Zealand will play three ODIs and many T20s against Australia to end their cricket season. So the second Test against Bangladesh is Taylor’s last Test. And no doubt he would want to make it a memorable one.
Squad: Mominul Haque (capt), Shadman Islam, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mushfiqur Rahim, Fazle Mahmud, Liton Das (wk), Nurul Hasan (wk), Yasir Ali, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Taskin Ahmed, Abu Jayed, Ebadot Hossain, Shoriful Islam, Khaled Ahmed, Shohidul Islam, Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Mohammad Naim.