Eden Park, Auckland: Pitch report and weather conditions
With the aim of ending an unsuccessful tour on a winning note, Bangladesh will square off against New Zealand in the final T20I of the 3-match series at Eden Park in Auckland.
The Bangladesh cricket team toured New Zealand for three ODIs and three T20Is this month. Unfortunately, the visitors have lost all five white-ball fixtures played on this tour so far. Even though the home team is not at its full strength, Bangladesh could not capitalize on the opportunity.
However, Eden Park is a venue where the visiting teams have dominated the Black Caps in the game's shortest format. Bangladesh thus might just get a chance to set things right here.
New Zealand have a losing record of 9-14 in Auckland T20Is. That said, the last two T20Is at this stadium have ended in the home side's favor.
Eden Park's wicket assists the batsmen and the fast bowlers like almost every other pitch in New Zealand. The average first innings score in 23 T20Is at this venue has been 170, while teams batting second have won 12 matches. The Bangladesh cricket team has never played a T20I fixture in Auckland.
In the previous T20I at Eden Park, Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat. Stand-in skipper Shadab Khan's 32-ball 42 guided the Men in Green to 153/9 in their 20 overs. Debutant Jacob Duffy impressed fans with a four-wicket haul, while Scott Kuggeleijn scalped three Pakistani wickets.
Tim Seifert provided an excellent start to the Kiwis with a 43-ball 57 at the top. Haris Rauf and Shaheen Shah Afridi tried their best to save the day for Pakistan, but New Zealand successfully chased the target with five wickets and seven balls to spare.
Eden Park, Auckland: Weather conditions
Scattered thunderstorms are expected during the match in Auckland. Since heavy rainfall is predicted for the entire day, it seems unlikely that fans will get a full 20-overs-a-side match at Eden Park.
The temperature will likely loom around 18 degrees Celsius at night, while the humidity levels will be 82%.