Devon Conway vs Taskin Ahmed: Can Bangladesh Star Outfox New Zealand's Key Opener?

Taskin Ahmed and Devon Conway [Source: @dhillow_/X.com]

New Zealand is anything but ready to book their spot for the semi-finals in the 2025 Champions Trophy. With their next match scheduled against Bangladesh on February 24 at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium in Rawalpindi, the Kiwis would like to continue their winning momentum after Pakistan and defeat Bangladesh to virtually book a spot for the semi-finals.

With New Zealand ready to bring their A-game, the Bangla Tigers are not going to fall back as well. Though Bangladesh was beaten by India in their campaign opener, they will be hungry to take up the do-or-die challenge.

With all on the line, all eyes will be on New Zealand's opener Devon Conway in the match. Though he was exposed by Abrar Ahmed in the first match against Pakistan what he really might want is yet another poor show. However, with Tasking Ahmed ready with all guns blazing it can turn out to be an interesting affair.

Hence, let's take a look at how Conway and Taskin will turn up against each other in the upcoming clash.

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Why Will Devon Conway Be Important For New Zealand?

• Devon Conway as an opener has been a good performer for the BlackCaps. Appearing on 28 occasions, Conway has managed to score 1,110 runs at a strike rate of 89.81 as an opener. 
• Conway will be crucial in crafting the foundation of the Kiwi attack as he pairs up with Will Young. Though not at his best recently, Conway boasts an impressive average of 51.7 in the 3 ODI matches he played in 2024-25. Hence, he will be all but ready for the Tigers' attack.
• If Conway fires up at the powerplays since he boasts a strike rate of 78.9 in ODIs during powerplays, he can provide a massive boost for Kane Williamson and Daryl Mitchell to carry forward the momentum.

Devon Conway vs Taskin Ahmed

Table - Devon Conway vs Taskin Ahmed in ODIs

Devon Conway has faced Taskin Ahmed in ODIs on 4 occasions where it is safe to say that the former has the upper hand as Ahmed failed to dismiss him even once. With a strike rate of 77.1 against Ahmed, Conway will be pretty confident to face him in the upcoming match as well. 

Will Conway Outclass Ahmed's Pace?

Devon Conway's dominance against the right-arm pacers further threatens Ahmed's chances of picking him up in the match. Conway displays a solid strike rate of 86.5 against right-arm pacers and 19 dismissals in 30 innings. 

Table - Devon Conway vs Right Arm Pacers in ODIs

Though Conway's dismissal percentage stands at 63.33%, with Ahmed not being able to send him back at least once, the probability of Conway winning the battle is much heavier.

To be fair, on the other hand, Taskin Ahmed's stats against left-hand batters have been rather dismal. He only managed to scalp 22 wickets in the 70 occasions he bowled at southpaws, displaying his success rate as 31.42%.

Table - Taskin Ahmed vs Left-Hand Batters in ODIs

With that being said, Conway can prove to have an upper hand over Taskin in the upcoming Bangladesh vs New Zealand match. However, Taskin's powerplay economy rate is good in ODIs with a figure of 4.93 and though he has a slightly lesser chance of success against Conway, he can prove to be lethal with the ball against the rest of the Kiwi lineup.

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