New Zealand’s Nick Kelly, the stand-in captain in place of the injured Tom Latham, said that winning the third T20I in Dhaka to end the series 1-1 will make for a good finish and return journey for the team even though for the inexperienced lineup, the metric of success is not just to win.

After Bangladesh won the first T20I to go 1-0 up, the second fixture in Chattogram was washed out without a ball being bowled on Wednesday. Kelly said that they wanted to finish the tour on a high.

“Obviously [the match being abandoned is] pretty disappointing,” Kelly told the media.

“Weather's out of our control though, so I guess like you said, we've just got to move forward quickly and look to the last game in Dhaka. Obviously, it's been a pretty enjoyable tour for the group. It's a bit of a different group to what was at the World Cup with a lot of inexperience, but it's just another great opportunity for the guys to go out, represent New Zealand, and hopefully finish the tour on a high,” he added.

Asked if success means drawing the series level or something broader, Kelly said: “I think it's a little bit broader... there are a lot of things that we like to review after a game and many of them aren't outcome-based.”

“Obviously a win would be great to go on the plane one-all and finish what's been a great trip, but you know, there's a lot of other things that this team measures themselves on,” he said.

The visitors will move to Dhaka on Wednesday morning and Ben Sears, who was featuring in the Pakistan Super League, has joined the side.

“He’s a relatively experienced player now. Like you said, we've played a lot of cricket together. He's had a few injuries sort of at the back end of the year, but in 2026 he's had a great run of cricket and I think his game has just gone from strength to strength.

“Off the field, he's just a great character… really been embraced by the group. You can tell he's a lot more comfortable in his skin now and the boys love him.”