Bangladesh hit back with spin on 15-wicket day
Spin ruled the roost on the opening day of the second Test as Bangladesh hit back after being bowled out for a paltry 172. Mehidy Hasan and Taijul Islam reduced New Zealand to 55/5 before bad light ended the day’s play. New Zealand attempted to attack against the new ball until spinners came into play. Mehidy had Devon Conway leaving alone a ball that went straight on to kickstart the collapse. Taijul then struck with help from Nurul Hasan, who took a sharp low catch, behind the stumps. He had another in his following over when Henry Nicholls fell trying to take the aerial route. Things went further south as Mehidy had Kane Williamson caught at short leg and Tom Blundell plumb LBW in the space of three balls. It left New Zealand in tatters, and Bangladesh cock-a-hoop after wading through similar tides earlier in the day and eventually being bowled out soon after the Tea interval. The second session began with Bangladesh in the middle of a recovery through Mushfiqur Rahim and Shahadat Hossain who put on a 57-run stand before the former had a brain-fade. On 35, Rahim pushed the ball away with his glove after defending it and was given out obstructing the field as New Zealand’s appeal was rightly upheld. The basic error proved to be quite costly as Bangladesh suffered another slide. Shahadat, who had held one end up defly alongside Rahim in their resolute stand, was out edging a big offbreak down the legside to fall prey to Glenn Phillips. Nurul Hasan added to Phillips’s scalps by hitting one straight to mid on. After a 42-ball stay, Mehidy Hasan Miraz poked at a turner from Mitchell Santner just minutes before Tea break, edging it to slip. That wicket capped off another good session for the visitors. New Zealand had included Santner in place of Ish Sodhi for this Test, and he had been the first to strike – inducing a false stroke from opener Zakir Hasan and having him caught at mid on – in the morning session. This was a result of both left-arm spinners – Santner and Ajaz Patel – starting on song and stringing together a few tight overs. That wicket though brought about a few more in quick succession. Ajaz had Mahmudul Hasan caught off an inside edge at short leg first and in his next over, had Mominul Haque under-edging a cut to the wicket-keeper. Skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto attempted a brief counterattack, reverse-sweeping Santner for a boundary but fell while going for an encore. As he missed and was struck on the pad, Santner pushed for a LBW review and got it in his favour, reducing Bangladesh to 47/4 at one point. What looked like a position of no return at one point was eventually turned around thanks to the spinners joining the party. Brief Scores:
Bangladesh 172 all out (Mushfiqur Rahim 35; Glenn Phillips 3-31, Mitchell Santner 3-54) lead New Zealand 55/5 (Mehidy Hasan 3-17) by 117 runs
