New Zealand Bats First; Soumya Sarkar Replaces Afif Hossain in Bangladesh Team

New Zealand captain Tom Latham won the toss and chose to bat in the second ODI in Dhaka on Monday. The match took place at the Shere Bangla National Stadium.

New Zealand fielded the same XI that started the series. Bangladesh made one alteration to their side.

New Zealand Bats First; Soumya Sarkar Replaces Afif Hossain in Bangladesh Team. Soumya Sarkar came into the XI for the struggling Afif Hossain.

Tactical changes and form

Afif had scored 27 in the first game but was deemed out of form. Bangladesh had lost momentum in that match and finished 26 runs short.

Mustafizur Rahman was not included again. The decision gave Shoriful Islam another opportunity.

Pitch and conditions

The Shere Bangla surface was last used in March during the Pakistan series. Fast bowlers thrived on that pitch then.

The strip carries a grass cover. Teams expect more pace and steadier bounce than in the previous ODI.

New Zealand seamer Nathan Smith said he saw improved bounce after inspecting the wicket. Bangladesh’s management has also backed a pace-heavy approach.

Bangladesh bowling strategy

Bangladesh stuck with a three-man seam attack for the match. The quicks selected were Shoriful Islam, Taskin Ahmed and Nahid Rana.

Shoriful had returned figures of 2 for 27 in the earlier game. That performance reinforced the selectors’ faith in the new-ball options.

Notable milestone

Wicketkeeper-batter Litton Das marked his 100th ODI appearance for Bangladesh. The milestone added significance to the home side’s selection choices.

Squads

Bangladesh

• Saif Hassan
• Tanzid Hasan
• Towhid Hridoy
• Soumya Sarkar
• Najmul Hossain Shanto
• Litton Das (wk)
• Mehidy Hasan Miraz (capt)
• Rishad Hossain
• Taskin Ahmed
• Shoriful Islam
• Nahid Rana

New Zealand

• Henry Nicholls
• Will Young
• Nick Kelly
• Dean Foxcroft
• Tom Latham (capt, wk)
• Muhammad Abbas
• Josh Clarkson
• Nathan Smith
• Blair Tickner
• Will O’Rourke
• Jayden Lennox

Filmogaz.com will monitor the game and report developments as the match progresses. Updates will include tactical shifts and key performances.