Adam Milne replaces Lockie Ferguson in New Zealand’s only change
Toss Bangladesh opt to bowl vs New Zealand
Bangladesh chose to make first use of a slightly damp surface in Napier with the T20I series on the line. Having been blanked in the ODIs and then beaten comprehensively in the first T20I, they are still searching for an ideal combination as they seek an upturn in fortunes in a World Cup year.
Taskin Ahmed, whose last T20I appearance came in the Nidahas Trophy back in 2018, got a look-in ahead of Mustafizur Rahman. Having struggled with injuries and poor form over the past few years, Ahmed returned to the ODI set-up, and had moderate returns: two wickets in thee games with an economy rate of 5.91. Rahman, though, has proven expensive across formats. After conceding runs at 7.77 in the ODIs, he gave away 48 in his four wicketless overs in the first T20I.
New Zealand seem to be fine-tuning superbly ahead of the mega event in India this October, with their batting, lead by Devon Conway, following a template of the kind England have set – sustained aggression right through.
They made just one change, Adam Milne coming in for the rested Lockie Ferguson, who returned 2 for 25 the other night. Finn Allen gets another opportunity to showcase his burgeoning credentials before he flies off to the IPL to join the Royal Challengers Bangalore later this week.
New Zealand: 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Finn Allen, 3 Devon Conway (wk), 4 Will Young, 5 Glenn Phillips, 6 Mark Chapman, 7 Daryl Mitchell, 8 Tim Southee (capt), 9 Ish Sodhi, 10 Hamish Bennett, 11 Adam Milne
Bangladesh: 1 Liton Das (wk), 2 Mohammad Naim, 3 Soumya Sarkar, 4 Mohammad Mithun, 5 Mahmudullah (capt), 6 Afif Hossain, 7 Mohammad Saifuddin, 8 Mahedi Hasan, 9 Nasum Ahmed, 10 Shoriful Islam, 11 Taskin Ahmed
Shashank Kishore is a senior sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo