Bangladesh may have lost the just-concluded three-match ODI series, but winning their maiden encounter in the format against New Zealand in New Zealand on their 19th attempt provides the Najmul Hossain Shanto-led side with the necessary confidence boost for the upcoming three T20Is.

New Zealand skipper Tom Latham said his side 'were completely outplayed' by Bangladesh following a nine-wicket defeat in the third and final ODI of the three-match series in Napier on Saturday.

Even though in-form Soumya Sarkar had to walk off following some sort of trouble in his right eye, Bangladesh got off to a decent start in their chase of a meagre 99 in their third and final ODI against New Zealand in Napier on Saturday.

Bangladesh skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto won the toss and decided to bowl in the third and final ODI of the three-match series against New Zealand in Nelson on Saturday.

Bangladesh take on New Zealand in the third and final ODI in Napier tomorrow, hoping to salvage something from the already conceded series. The game will begin at 4:00 am (Bangladesh time).

Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto said he would like to see more team effort rather than one or two individual performances in order to avoid another white-ball series whitewash against New Zealand.

A superb 169 off 151 balls from opener Soumya Sarkar was not enough to end Bangladesh's miserable ODI streak in New Zealand, where they have now lost all of their 18 previous 50-over matches against the Black Caps

Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto said the result was "very disappointing" after pacer Shoriful Islam's early fireworks.

The visitors will need 245 runs to win owing to the adjusted total by the DLS method.

“Soumya’s role will be very important,” Shanto told reporters in Dunedin today, a day before the first ODI in Dunedin.

Bangladesh are set for a steep challenge in trying conditions in New Zealand as their white-ball tour against the 2023 World Cup semifinalists begins with the first of three ODIs at the University Oval in Dunedin on Sunday (Bangladesh time 4:00 am).

Bangladesh have never beaten New Zealand in their own backyard in a ODI or T20I. A confident Bangladesh skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto said that the team’s goal on this white-ball tour is to win the series against the hosts.

What is home advantage for Bangladesh? The question has been one of the more acute ones in Bangladesh's Test cricket in the last few years as the team has failed to yield such advantage at home – an outcome pointing to a lack of long-term vision.

Bangladesh let slip a chance to win their maiden Test series against New Zealand after succumbing to a four-wicket defeat in the second Test in Mirpur.  

New Zealand had an eight-run lead in the first innings with Phillips guiding the side to 180 from a precarious 46-5, in reply to Bangladesh's 172.

When Najmul Hossain Shanto expressed his willingness to lead Bangladesh in all three formats ahead of the first Test in Sylhet, not many would have envisioned him guiding the Tigers to an emphatic victory in his very first assignment as captain in the format.

Bangladesh head coach Chandika Hathurusingha spoke highly of Najmul Hossain Shanto’s captaincy and leadership capabilities, hailing him as a strong contender to take the Tigers’ reins for the long term.

Shanto and his troops began their third cycle of the World Tests Championship (WTC) with a 150-run win against the winners of the inaugural WTC.

Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto said his team are enjoying the victory, but knows that there would be criticism of his side if they do poorly in the next match.

It took over two weeks for the country’s cricket board to finally set in motion a special probe committee to unearth the reasons behind Bangladesh’s shambolic ICC ODI World Cup campaign in India.