New Zealand are favorites to win
After whitewashing Bangladesh 3-0 in the one-day international series, New Zealand will look to continue their dominance in the longest format of the game. The first of the three tests is scheduled to be played from February 28 at the Seddon Park in Hamilton. Live telecast will begin at 11 AM local time each day of the match.
TV channels: Star Sports, Fox Sports, Sky Sports Cricket, SuperSport, Gazi TV, OSN Sports Cricket HD
Live Streaming: Bet365, Hotstar, SuperSport Live, Now TV
Read on for team previews, betting odds, betting tips and predictions for NZ vs Ban, 1st test...
New Zealand will want their big guns Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor, Tom Latham and Henry Nicholls to score the big runs for them in this first test. Taylor and Williamson are two of their leading run-getters in this format and they are more likely to play the big innings for their side. Taylor is coming off a pretty good ODI series and he will look to carry his good form in red-ball cricket. Trent Boult, Tim Southee and Neil Wagner will form a threatening Kiwi pace attack. Southee and Boult are amongst the leading wicket-takers for the Black Caps in test cricket and the duo caused plenty of problems for the Bangladeshi batsmen in the preceding ODI series. The former picked up a six-fer in the final ODI and he will be expected to provide the early breakthroughs with the new ball in this match.
Tom Latham, Jeet Raval, Kane Williamson (c), Ross Taylor, Henry Nicholls, BJ Watling (wk), Colin de Grandhomme, Tim Southee, Todd Astle, Neil Wagner, Trent Boult
Bangladesh will bank on the likes of Tamim Iqbal, Shadman Islam, Liton Das and Mahmudullah to make sizeable contributions with the bat in this opening test match. Tamim has scored the most runs for the team in the longest format and it will be up to him to set the tone for the rest of the innings. Liton Das, Mahmudullah and Shadman Islam all cracked half-centuries in the practice match against New Zealand XI and they will be expected to repeat that performance. Bangladesh's bowling will rely heavily on Mustafizur Rahman, Mehidy Hasan and Taijul Islam. Mustafizur was their most successful bowler in the ODI series with four wickets in three matches at a healthy economy of 6.33 and the team will back the fast bowler to make the early inroads into New Zealand's batting line-up. Taijul and Mehidy both have seven five-wicket hauls in test cricket and the spin duo forms a key component of this bowling unit.
Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Mominul Haque, Shadman Islam, Mohammad Mithun, Mahmudullah (c), Liton Das (wk), Mehidy Hasan, Taijul Islam, Nayeem Hasan, Mustafizur Rahman
New Zealand and Bangladesh have played 13 test matches against each other. The hosts have won 10 of those and the rest have all ended in stalemates.
The two nations have faced each other twice at the Seddon Park in the game's longest format with New Zealand having emerged victorious on both occasions. The hosts won the first of those encounters by an innings and 52 runs in December 2001 and the second by 121 runs in February 2010.
Matches Played: 13; New Zealand Won: 10; Bangladesh Won: 0; Draw: 3
New Zealand find themselves as firm favorites amongst the bookmakers to win the opening test match. The hosts are being offered at extremely short odds of 1.15 on Betway, 1.16 on Bet365 and 1.17 on Betfair. Bangladesh begin as huge underdogs at a whopping 13.50 on Betfair and 10 on both Betway and Bet365. A drawn game stands at 13, 9.50 and 10 with the respective bookmakers.
Since 2008, the Seddon Park has hosted eleven test matches out of which only one has produced a draw. So wagering on a draw here does not seem like a good idea. The Kiwis are riding high on confidence after their 3-0 clean sweep in the ODI series and they will be carrying plenty of momentum with them as well. Moreover, they have risen to number two in the ICC test rankings for the first time and this will further boost their morale heading into this game. Bangladesh, on the other hand, are ninth in the rankings and they seem to be plagued by injuries at the moment. The hosts have a strong test record at home and we expect them to start this series off with a win.
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