Bangladesh Tour of New Zealand

New Zealand are set to host Bangladesh for a three-match ODI and T20I series as well as a two-match test series between December 26, 2016 and January 24, 2017. The visitors will begin their tour with a warm-up game against New Zealand XI on December 22 before taking on the hosts in the ODI series which will be followed by the T20I and then the test series.

Read on for team previews, betting tips, series odds and prediction for New Zealand vs Bangladesh ODI series 2016-17….

New Zealand Team Preview:-

Team News

Neil Broom, who was last seen in ODI action for New Zealand back in March 2010, has earned a call-up for the upcoming home ODI series. The batsman is likely to bat at no. 4 in the lineup, replacing Ross Taylor who has been ruled out of the series after undergoing an eye surgery. Luke Ronchi will take the gloves from wicketkeeper BJ Watling who has also been sidelined. Todd Astle and Henry Nicholls who were both part of the team during the recently played Chappell-Hadlee Trophy in Australia are the others to have been left out.

Recent Performance

New Zealand will be coming into this ODI series after having faced defeats in their last two. They were beaten 2-3 by India in India before receiving a 0-3 bashing at the hands of Australia in Australia. They last won an ODI series in February this year when they beat Australia 2-1 at home in a three-match series.

Key Players

Martin Guptill finished as their best batsman in the recently played Chappell-Hadlee Trophy in Australia. He is the leading run-getter for New Zealand from the current squad and the team will be feeling relaxed seeing him back in form. Skipper Kane Williamson has been their best man with the bat across all formats. He is averaging 46.27 in ODIs and we predict him to score the most runs for the Kiwis in this series.

With pitches in New Zealand offering good pace and bounce, the Bangladeshi batsmen are more likely to be troubled by fast bowlers. As such, Tim Southee and Trent Boult will come into play and they are going to be big thorns in the visitor's flesh throughout the tour. Southee is their most successful bowler in the 50-over format with 144 wickets and we feel he will be causing the most problems for the opposition in this series.

Squad

Kane Williamson (c), Neil Broom, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Colin Munro, Luke Ronchi (wk), Tim Southee, Trent Boult, Colin de Grandhomme, Martin Guptill, Tom Latham, James Neesham and Mitchell Santner.

Bangladesh Team Preview:-

Team News

The team have announced a 15-man squad for the first one-day international. Mustafizur Rahman returns to the side after a shoulder injury had kept him out of action for nearly six months. Rubel Hossain, Mehedi Hasan, Tanveer Haider and Subashis Roy are among the other entrants while Nasir Hossain, Shafiul Islam, Al-Amin Hossain and Taijul Islam have been dropped.

Recent Performance

Bangladesh's most recent ODI series came against England at home two months ago. It was a three-match series which England won in the end by 2-1. However before this series defeat, Bangladesh had won five on the trot, beating Pakistan, India, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Afghanistan on the way. They have been hard to beat at home in recent times but their overseas record has been ordinary at best.

Key Players

Tamim Iqbal will be holding the key with the bat. The attacking Bangladeshi opener has scored the most runs for the team in this format and we predict him to top-score in this series. Imrul Kayes topped the runs charts in the recent series against England and the team will be having huge expectations from him as well.

Shakib Al Hasan and skipper Mashrafe Mortaza are the two best bowlers for Bangladesh in 50-overs cricket. Tied at 215 wickets apiece, they are the team's leading ODI wicket-takers who will be relied upon the most when it comes to bowling. The pitches in New Zealand should suit Mortaza more and he therefore is more likely to spell trouble for the Kiwi batsmen in this series.

Squad

Mashrafe Mortaza (c), Imrul Kayes, Mehedi Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Rubel Hossain, Soumya Sarkar, Tamim Iqbal, Taskin Ahmed, Shakib Al Hasan, Mahmudullah, Mosaddek Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Sabbir Rahman, Subashis Roy and Tanbir Hayder.

NZ vs Ban ODI Series Betting Odds

New Zealand haven't lost an ODI series at home for almost two years now. They have played six home bilateral series since January 2015 and have emerged winners in each of them. They have defeated Australia, Sri Lanka and Pakistan twice within a span of two years and seem to be a hard nut to crack in their own backyard. Not surprisingly, they are overwhelming favorites to win this ODI series outright at 1.14 with bet365 and 1.06 with betfair. Bangladesh may have matured as a unit over the past couple of years or so, but they still start as distant outsiders at 3 with betfair and 5.50 with bet365.

NZ vs Ban ODI Series Prediction

Bangladesh have played two three-match bilateral ODI series in New Zealand against the hosts in the past. They first toured the nation in 2007 and then two years later in 2009, suffering a 0-3 clean sweep on both these tours. So the fact that they haven't been able to win an ODI series in New Zealand is going to make their shoulders drop a bit. Bangladesh did however beat the Kiwis in their previous two series but they were both played in Bangladesh. And in New Zealand where the ball tends to bounce, zip and swing, it is going to be a real struggle for the Bangladeshi batsmen against the likes of Southee and Boult.

Final Verdict: We recommend betting on New Zealand to win the ODI series at 1.14 with bet365.