Mehidy and Taijul placed pressure

2023.12.06

Phillips, Santner and Patel had earlier shared eight wickets between them as New Zealand bowled Bangladesh out cheaply

New Zealand 55 for 5 (Mitchell 12*, Phillips 5*, Mehidy 3-17, Taijul 2-29) trail Bangladesh 172 (Mushfiqur 35, Shahadat 31, Philips 3-31, Santner 3-65) by 117 runs.

Thirteen of the fifteen wickets that fell on the opening day of the Dhaka Test were claimed by spin. After Bangladesh’s 172 all out, New Zealand collapsed to 46 for five, and Mehidy Hasan Miraz claimed three wickets and Taijul Islam two as they concluded the day on 55 for five. What their batters had endured at the hands of the New Zealand spinners was returned to them by the Bangladeshi spinners.

Bangladesh suffered early blows, losing wickets at a regular rate as gloomy weather in Mirpur prevented captain Najmul Hossain Shanto’s plan to bat first from producing the needed momentum. The openers scored 29 runs in their first partnership, however Mahmudul Hasan Joy left after making 14 runs. The pair of Mushfiqur Rahim and Shahadat Hossain Dipu put up a strong fight, scoring 57 runs together for the fifth wicket. Dipu brought the total to 31 runs, and Miraz’s innings came to an end at 20.

Rahim, who had hit 35 off 83 balls, was unusually removed from the game for willfully blocking the field. Among the bowlers, Glenn Phillips, who marked his birthday with a 3/31 in 12 overs, and Mitchell Santner stood out with numbers of 3/65 in 28 overs. Ajaz Patel made a contribution with taking two wickets in 17 overs, resulting in 54 runs. The captain, Tim Southee, claimed the last wicket as Bangladesh was dismissed for 172 runs.

Mehidy Hasan Miraz stops New Zealand with an incredible bowling performance.

As a result of losing important players like Devon Conway, Tom Latham, and former captain Kane Williamson, New Zealand’s top order faltered. Bangladesh’s spinners, led by Taijul Islam (2/29), and Miraz (3/17), masterminded a collapse. After everything was said and done, New Zealand was behind by 117 runs at 55/5. Phillips and Daryl Mitchell were still undefeated. Encouraged by the success of their spinners, Bangladesh will try to take advantage of the good circumstances and get rid of the Kiwis early the next day. In the first two games of the series, Bangladesh is up 1-0.

@charith