Sakib al Hasan and Abdur Razzak claimed one wicket apiece in last two overs to restore some parity for Bangladesh after a tough opening day in the first Test against New Zealand in Chittagong on Wednesday. New Zealand looked set for a big total after Kane Williamson scored his fourth Test century, but Sakib and Razzak struck just in time to save the day for Tigers, restricting the visitors to 280-5 at stumps.
Sakib prevented the day from going from bad to worse as he trapped Williamson lbw for 114, and Razzak made sure that New Zealand lost their top-half before close when he had Black Caps skipper Brendan McCullum out lbw for 21 in the final over of the day.
The two wickets came as huge relief for the Tigers, who had loaded their squad with three spinners, hoping to bewilder the Kiwis on a pitch that was supposed to keep low and provide some turn.
However, New Zealand found batting relatively easy after their McCullum won the toss and elected to bat as there was very little turn, though the ball did keep low.
Just two wickets fell in the first two sessions as the Kiwis successfully negotiated Bangladesh’s spin trio of Sakib, Razzak and Sohag Gazi. Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim introduced spin in the sixth over of the innings to no serious effect and the Kiwi openers grew in confidence, having remained watchful for the first hour.
Things looked ominous when Hamish Rutherford charged Sohag down the wicket to hit a six, though the off-spinner had his revenge soon after, dismissing the opener for 34 courtesy a Razzak catch at mid-off.
Number three Williamson showed his intent when he drove the first ball he faced to the cover fence and then flicked the fifth delivery off Sakib for another boundary, denying Bangladesh any kind of momentum.
His aggression gave opener Peter Fulton some much-needed confidence at the other end, as the duo added 126 runs for the second wicket before the Tigers made another breakthrough with part-time spinner Nasir Hossain.
Mushfiq had mostly relied on Razzak and Sohag for a breakthrough after Sakib went for 30 runs in his first six overs, but Fulton and Williamson handled them with ease.
Debutant Marshall Ayub was also given two overs before Mushfiq turned to Nasir, who celebrated wildly after making Fulton (78) offer a catch to substitute fielder Naeem Islam at cover in his very first over.
Razzak dismissed Ross Taylor for 28 in the 80th over, but just when it looked like Bangladesh would have to be content with just one wicket in each session, Sakib and Razzak struck.
The manner in which Sakib and Razzak scalped Williamson and McCullum respectively was particularly pleasing, as on both occasions the left arm spin duo produced turn that flummoxed the batsmen.
Those deliveries raised Bangladesh’s hopes of bowling New Zealand out for less than 400 runs, which would make this match a contest worth watching.
Bangladesh v New Zealand
1st Test, Day 2 live on
GTV and BTV from 9:30am
SCORECARD
BANGLADESH V NEW ZEALAND
First Test, Day 1
New Zealand 1st innings
P Fulton c Mominul b Nasir 73
H Rutherford c Razzak b Gazi 34
K Williamson lbw b Sakib 114
R Taylor c sub (Naeem) b Razzak 28
B McCullum lbw b Razzak 21
B Martin not out 0
BJ Watling not out 0
Extras: (b4, lb6) 10
Total (for 5 wickets, 89.5 overs) 280
Fall of wickets: 1-57 (Rutherford), 2-183 (Fulton), 3-244 (Taylor), 4-276 (Williamson), 5-280 (McCullum).
Bowling:
Robiul 10 2 16 0
Rubel 13 1 44 0
Razzak 31.5 4 100 2
Gazi 23 4 56 1
Sakib 8 2 34 1
Ayub 2 0 15 0
Nasir 2 0 5 1
Toss: New Zealand
-With New Age input
