In a tournament laced with brevity, the second game for half of the teams will be a must-win. On Sunday, it was Pakistan, who now are all but out of the ongoing Champions Trophy and on Monday, February 24, it is time for Bangladesh to put their best foot forward since it’s do-or-die for the Tigers against New Zealand in the tournament’s opening fixture at the Rawalpindi Stadium. Bangladesh did well to stretch India how much they did with the resources they had despite a modest total but the Champions Trophy as a format is not very forgiving.
One loss and the team could be out of the tournament and hence, Bangladesh need nothing but a win against confident Kiwis, who have won five matches so far in Pakistan in the last couple of weeks. The Black Caps had a couple of injuries in the pace department but their batting unit came to the fore in the tournament opener against Pakistan and would be confident of repeating the same in Pindi, which is traditionally a high-scoring venue.
Rachin Ravindra, who copped a nasty blow during the tri-series, is back fit and available but with Will Young scoring a century in the last game, the all-rounder might be limited to the bench yet again. However, New Zealand could look at giving someone like Kyle Jamieson or Jacob Duffy a game to have their pace attack in the rhythm before the India game and potentially, the knockouts.
My Dream11 team for ICC Champions Trophy Match 6, BAN vs NZ
Devon Conway, Kane Williamson, Towhid Hridoy, Mehidy Hasan Miraz (c), Jaker Ali, Rishad Hossain, Matt Henry, Taskin Ahmed, Glenn Phillips, Will O’Rourke (vc), Mitchell Santner
Probable Playing XIs
Bangladesh: Tanzid Hasan, Soumya Sarkar, Najmul Hossain Shanto (c), Towhid Hridoy, Mushfiqur Rahim/Mahmudullah, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Jaker Ali, Rishad Hossain, Tanzim Hasan Sakib/Nahid Rana, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman
New Zealand: Devon Conway, Will Young, Kane Williamson, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (c), Nathan Smith/Kyle Jamieson, Matt Henry, William O’Rourke
