Bangladesh target series win in rainy Chattogram

If Latham fails to recover from injury in time, Kelly will captain NZ once again

Mohammad Isam

Published: Apr 28, 2026, 9:17 AM (1 hr ago)

Big picture: Bangladesh primed for another series win

Rain could stand in the way of Bangladesh's push towards winning the T20I series against New Zealand in Chattogram. The home side thrilled their fans with a big-hitting display rarely seen during a Bangladesh chase, leaving New Zealand shell-shocked with their late assault.

Bangladesh played a different type of T20I than they have done in the past 12 months. Tanzid Hasan and Saif Hassan couldn't provide them with the blazing start in a big chase and by the time they left, Bangladesh were facing a 10-plus asking rate. Enter Towhid Hridoy, Parvez Hossain and Shamim Hossain.

The middle-order trio went after New Zealand in a sustained counterattack that saw the home side reach the target with two overs to spare. Bangladesh, however, might have to revisit their bowling plans. They were too attacking and struggled to keep New Zealand in check.

New Zealand will be buoyed by half-centuries from Katene Clarke and Dane Cleaver. Both batters showed their wide array of shots on both sides of the wicket, before stand-in captain Nick Kelly made a final effort to push the New Zealand total. Their bowling was as patchy as Bangladesh's. Left-arm seamer Ben Lister made a strong start, but the rest of the bowlers could not maintain the pressure. Even the experienced Ish Sodhi went at ten runs an over. But this will once again be a good test of New Zealand's depth.

Form guide

Bangladesh WWWLL

New Zealand LLLWW

In the spotlight: Shamim Hossain and Katene Clarke

Shamim Hossain's flip for six over the wicketkeeper's head during the first T20I has gone viral. He timed the ball very well throughout his unbeaten 31 off 13 balls. Shamim's innings on Monday was a reminder of his ability to finish an innings. He is also one of Bangladesh's best fielders, and a handy part-time bowler, which makes him an exciting package, especially in white-ball cricket.

Katene Clarke eased his way into international cricket on Monday. He slammed his maiden half-century off 34 balls, including some sparkling shots. The square-cut, the chip towards midwicket and the reverse hits all stood out. Bangladesh could come hard at him and mix up their lengths to him in the second game.

Team news

Bangladesh have no reason to tweak their winning combination.

Bangladesh: 1 Tanzid Hasan, 2 Saif Hassan, 3 Parvez Hossain Emon, 4 Litton Das (capt, wk), 5 Towhid Hridoy, 6 Shamim Hossain, 7 Mahedi Hasan, 8 Rishad Hossain, 9 Tanzim Hasan, 10 Shoriful Islam, 11 Ripon Mondol

New Zealand's regular captain Tom Latham missed the T20I series opener with injury. If he doesn't recover in time, Kelly will stand in as skipper once again. Left-arm spinner Jayden Lennox might also get a game if they opt to rejig their combination.

New Zealand: 1 Tim Robinson, 2 Katene Clarke, 3 Dane Cleaver (wk), 4 Nick Kelly (capt), 5 Bevon Jacobs, 6 Dean Foxcroft, 7 Josh Clarkson, 8 Nathan Smith, 9 Ish Sodhi, 10 Matt Fisher, 11 Ben Lister

Pitch and conditions: Eyes on the skies

The Chattogram pitch played to its tradition of being a flat batting deck but the main concern is the weather. It rained heavily in Chattogram on Tuesday, on the eve of the game, and there's more rain in the forecast on match day as well.

Stats and trivia

Bangladesh's Nos. 4 to 6 scored 100-plus runs at a 200-plus strike-rate for the first time in a T20I chase on .

Matt Fisher had a forgettable debut for New Zealand, conceding 53 runs in his four overs. It's the most conceded by a New Zealand bowler on T20I debut.

Quotes

"There was some really good stuff [in the first T20I]. We're not far away. It'll just be a few tweaks around the way that they batted at the back end and maybe taking some learnings from that. But I don't think there's a lot that we need to do to reinvent the wheel."

New Zealand batter Dane Cleaver

Mohammad Isam is ESPNcricinfo's Bangladesh correspondent. @isam84

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