New Zealand won the toss and elected to bowl against Bangladesh in their third World Cup match on Friday.
Kane Williamson is back to lead the Kiwis after missing the opening two matches to regain match fitness following his recovery from a knee injury that he suffered during IPL 2023. He happens to be the only change for New Zealand, replacing Will Young.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh also made a change, bringing in Mahmudullah for Mahedi Hasan.
New Zealand won both their matches to sit in the second position in the points table, while Bangladesh won one and lost one in their opening two games of the ODI showpiece.
Nice to have 4 points on the board, lot of cricket to be played. Boys have prepared well and a huge challenge for us this afternoon. World Cup always brings a lot of excitement to the team, different conditions today, big challenge. We have been lucky with the bat so far, guys at the top are doing a great job and they understand these conditions very well.
Was a bit confused (about what to do), but we don't mind batting first. We didn't start well with bat and ball in the last 2 games and these are the two areas we are looking to improve. One change. Mahmudullah comes in for Mahedi.
We will bowl first, think its a good surface. Nice to take part in those warm-up games and nice to be standing here. I am coming for Will Young.
We couldn't have asked for a better start with two wins and four points. The guys are excited to get out there and put up a good show against Bangladesh. Bangladesh are a strong group, we're fortunate to have played a fair few ODI games against them recently. We've got good information on the group and how they go about things. They are crafty with the ball, they've got some good spinners and some good seamers up front as well.
A high-flying New Zealand will firmly bank on their potent batting line-up to ward off Bangladesh's capable spin attack on a slow Chepauk pitch and consolidate their position on top of the table during their World Cup match.