DHAKA, April 17, 2026 (BSS) - New Zealand captain Tom Latham won the toss and elected to bat first in the opening match of the three-match ODI series against Bangladesh at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium today.

Bangladesh skipper Mehidy Hasan Miraz said he would also have preferred to bowl first, citing uncertainty over the Mirpur pitch.

"I love to bowl first because it's a new ground and it's a new wicket as well," Miraz said after the toss. "That was a great series for us against Pakistan and a lot of our bowlers bowled really well. We have a very good bowling attack, with two spinners and three fast bowlers. You never know what kind of wicket we are playing on, but it looks like a good surface."

Bangladesh named an unchanged XI from their previous series against Pakistan.

Latham said the decision to bat first was influenced by expectations that the pitch would slow down later in the day.

"It looks a reasonably good surface, slightly dry, and it's a day game so it will potentially get slower later on," he said. "We have got three genuine seamers, a left-armer and a few all-rounders. The boys are raring to go. It has been a couple of hot days, but we will embrace what Bangladesh has for us."

Line-ups:

Bangladesh: Saif Hassan, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Litton Das (wk), Towhid Hridoy, Mehidy Hasan Miraz (c), Rishad Hossain, Afif Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Nahid Rana, Shoriful Islam.

New Zealand: Will Young, Tom Latham (wk/c), Henry Nicholls, Nick Kelly, Muhammad Abbas, Dean Foxcroft, Josh Clarkson, Nathan Smith, Blair Tickner, Jayden Lennox, William O'Rourke.