ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2020 Match 13, Bangladesh vs New Zealand: Preview, prediction, likely XIs

ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2020 Match 13, Bangladesh vs New Zealand: Preview, prediction, likely XIs

New Zealand Women

Bangladesh Women and New Zealand will meet at Junction Oval in the 13th Match of the tournament on Saturday.

Bangladesh have lost both their matches and currently at the bottom of Group A with hardly a slim chance of qualifying. Whereas for New Zealand it is a key match as they must win both of their matches against Bangladesh and Australia to qualify for the Knockouts.

Bangladesh lost both their matches against two strong sides like India and Australia. There were some individual good performances, but they could not deliver as a team. Mushida Khan and Nigar Sultana scored couple of quick 30s against India and Fargana Haque scored 36 against Australia. But they need big partnerships to put pressure on the opposition. In the case of bowling, the bowlers need to bowl a bit tighter to stop the flow of runs. Currently, there are too many loose deliveries given to the opposition by the Bangladesh bowlers.

New Zealand faced a setback in their last match against India when they lost a close encounter by just three runs. Their top-order lost too many wickets early in the innings and Amelia Kerr’s 19-ball 34 failed to take them over the line. Their pre-tournament form was good as they beat South Africa Women 3-1 in a 5-match series just before the T20 World Cup. Experienced Sophie Devine, the stand-in captain, is in great form and would look to attack the Bangladesh bowlers from the outset in search for a big total.

Head to Head

No prior match between these two teams.

Key Players

Salma Khatun (Bangladesh): Out of the five opposition wickets taken by Bangladesh bowlers in this tournament, three have been captured by the captain Salma Khatun. New Zealand have a strong top order and a lot will depend on Khatun to control the run flow and provide important breakthroughs.

Amelia Kerr (New Zealand): The young Amelia Kerr is always in focus thanks to her all-round contribution. In this World Cup also, she is currently at the top of the New Zealand bowling chart with four wickets at an average of 10.50. She was outstanding against India and almost took New Zealand to victory from a hopeless scenario. She would like to deliver another strong performance against Bangladesh and keep the momentum going.

Likely XIs

Bangladesh: Shamima Sultana, Murshida Khatun, Sanjida Islam, Nigar Sultana (wk), Fargana Hoque, Fahima Khatun, Jahanara Alam, Rumana Ahmed, Salma Khatun (c), Nahida Akter, Panna Ghosh

New Zealand: Sophie Devine (c), Rachel Priest (wk), Suzie Bates, Maddy Green, Katey Martin, Katie Perkins, Amelia Kerr, Hayley Jensen, Leigh Kasperek, Lea Tahuhu, Jess Kerr.

Prediction

New Zealand to win.