New Zealand Vs Bangladesh, 2nd T20I: Match Called Off After Heavy Rain; NZ - 72/2 (11 Overs) - As It Happened

NZ Vs BAN, 2nd T20I: Welcome to our live coverage of the cricket match being played at Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui. This is turning out to be quite a year-end blast for the touring Bangladesh national cricket team. The Bangla Tigers are making all the right noises in New Zealand. Despite losing the ODI series, they made history by beating the Black Caps in their backyard in the format for the first time, at Napier. It was followed up with another historic feat at the same venue: a first win in the T20Is in New Zealand. Today, Bangladesh can secure their first-ever series win against the BlackCaps in the shortest format of the game. Easier said than done, though. Follow the cricket match's highlights here. (Scorecard | Live Streaming)

2:25 PM: Match Called Off
After a heavy downpour, the match officials decided to call off the match. Captain Mitchell Santner and Najmul Hossain Shanto shook hands and then called it off.

1:45 PM: Still Raining In Mount Maunganui
It's raining heavily at the moment and the outfield is pretty dispatched. Need to work there before the match resumes.

1:15 PM: Rain Update
There are slight drizzles on the ground and people still have their umbrellas on. But, we have two more hours before the over-cut comes into play.

12:43 PM: Big Covers On Pitch
Umpires have called for big covers as it is a heavy downpour in Mount Maunganui. The good news is that the ground is sandbased and the outfield will dry sooner. So, we can expect an early resume of the match once it stops raining.

12:35 PM: Rain Stops Play
It is a heavy shower but soon expected to pass. Umpires have called the covers and players are off the field. 

12:33 PM: NZ - 72/2 (11 Overs)
After the dismissal of Tim Seifert, the run -rate has dropped significantly. New batter Glenn Phillips and set batter Daryl Mitchell are not taking risks at the moment and Bangladesh bowlers have also kept them at bay. Rishad Hossain has been terrific so far giving just 10 runs from his three overs.

12:20 PM: Tanzim Removes Seifert!
Tim Seifert, who was hammering every ball on his radar finally holed out on a slower delivery from Tanzim Hasan Sakib and a fine catch at mid-off by captain Shanto. Glenn Phillips is the new batter at the crease with Daryl Mitchell.

NZ - 61/2 (8 Overs)

12:08 PM: Tim Seifert Goes Big!
Opener Tim Seifert shifted gears after being hit on the helmet off Shoriful Islam's delivery. He first hit two back-to-back boundaries on Tanzim Hasan Sakib then humbled Islam for a six and a four in his next over.

NZ - 42/1 (5 Overs)

11:55 AM: NZ - 18/1 (3)
Shoriful Islam provided the first breakthrough with the second delivery of his first over and got Finn Allen caught out to Rishad Hossain. Daryl Mitchell replaced him at the crease and joined Tim Seifert who also looked in trouble when Mitchell's shot hit him on the helmet off Islam's delivery.

11:30 AM: Toss Update

Bangladesh have won the toss and have opted to field

Teams:

New Zealand (Playing XI): Finn Allen, Tim Seifert(w), Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner(c), Adam Milne, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Ben Sears

Bangladesh (Playing XI): Soumya Sarkar, Rony Talukdar(w), Najmul Hossain Shanto(c), Shamim Hossain, Towhid Hridoy, Afif Hossain, Mahedi Hasan, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Shoriful Islam, Rishad Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman

10:30 AM: Preview! 

Bangladesh vs New Zealand is surely the busiest cricket fixture in the last four months. New Zealand were in Bangladesh for a three-match ODI series and two Test matches, the latter part of the ongoing ICC World Test Championship 2023-25 cycle. The visitors won the ODIs 2-0 after no result in the tour opener. The two teams shared the honours in the Test series, 1-1, with the final day of the action in Dhaka happening on December 9, 2023. And on December 17, the two teams faced off in the first ODI of Bangladesh's tour of New Zealand 2023. Venue, Dunedin. 12 days later, they are here again, this time in Mount Maunganui for a T20I blast. Of course, they have one more meeting scheduled before the close of the year, the tour finale on December 31, at the same venue.

Squads

New Zealand: Finn Allen, Tim Seifert (wk), Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner (c), Adam Milne, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Ben Sears, Rachin Ravindra, Jacob Duffy

Bangladesh: Litton Das (wk), Rony Talukdar, Najmul Hossain Shanto (c), Soumya Sarkar, Towhid Hridoy, Afif Hossain, Mahedi Hasan, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Shoriful Islam, Rishad Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Shamim Hossain, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Hasan Mahmud, Tanvir Islam