ICC Champions Trophy 2017: New Zealand vs Bangladesh, 5 players to watch out for
Bangladesh and New Zealand have it all to play for as they lock horns at Cardiff for the ninth match of ICC Champions Trophy 2017. The former escaped defeat against the Australians courtesy the rain while the Kiwis, who were denied a victory against Australia by rain, lost to England by a fairly huge margin.
Given the current form of Tamim Iqbal, Bangladesh will look to put pressure on the Kiwi attack, which has looked lacklustre except for Adam Milne, who has been exceptional. Corey Anderson was also amongst the wickets against England but the Kiwis might just ponder the inclusion of Jeetan Patel for Mitchell Santner to tackle southpaws Soumya Sarkar, Tamim and Shakib.
New Zealand's batting isn't without its problems either with only Kane Williamson making consistent contributions. Luke Ronchi's McCullum-like approach backfired against England while Martin Guptill and Ross Taylor haven't given their skipper enough company. If New Zealand are to qualify they need to put up a good score on the board.
Here are five players that will be keenly watched in the encounter at Cardiff.
#5 Mustafizur Rehman
The tricky left-hand seamer could be Bangladesh's key weapon against Williamson. Williamson and Mustafizur both play for Sunrisers Hyderabad and the Bangladesh pacer will know Williamson well enough to try and coax him into a mistake.
Mustafizur hasn't yet set the Champions Trophy alight but has been Bangladesh's most consistent seamer. His cutters and slower variations have made it extremely difficult to get him away. Expect the Fizz to get quite a few overs at the death when the batsmen look to dominate. New Zealand will have to work out a good ploy to tackle Mustafizur if they are to put on a fighting score.
Record against New Zealand
Matches - 4, Wickets - 7, BBI - 2/32, Avg - 24.71