The second Test between Bangladesh and New Zealand is evenly poised after a rain-shortened first day, said New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor after the third session at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium was washed out on Monday. ‘[The match] is probably still pretty evenly poised and the rain has given our fast bowlers an extra break,’ Taylor said at the end-of-day press conference.
The former Black Caps captain cautioned that the match was still young and, with Bangladesh scoring quickly in the day’s two sessions, the contest could still go any way.
‘I think obviously the three wickets [of Tamim Iqbal, Mominul Haque and Sakib al Hasan] we got in the last session would definitely have given us the momentum, but there’s still a long way to go in this Test match.
‘Bangladesh have scored at over four runs an over, which has obviously made the Test a little bit more advanced than it would suggest after being only 55-odd overs being played.’
Taylor credited the approach of Tamim (95) and Marshall Ayub (41) for the Tigers’ brisk scoring pace and hailed the Kiwi bowlers for coming back late on, particularly after Tamim punished the tourists for dropping him twice early in the innings, both times off the bowling of Doug Bracewell.
‘We would have liked to have restricted them a little bit more, but you’ve got to give credit to the way Bangladesh batted. They put us under pressure at different stages, but we were happy with the way we came back.’
‘Any time you drop a batsman twice so early on the momentum does drop. You
never mean to drop catches, and Tamim made us pay.
‘I think Doug Bracewell was probably the pick of our bowlers today and didn’t have the luck he probably deserved, but I’m sure as the Test goes on, if he keeps bowling the way he did, the results will change in his favour hopefully.’
Taylor also praised the performance of Neil Wagner, who came into the side for Bruce Martin and picked up the crucial wickets of Tamim and Marshall while consistently troubling the home side with his pace and bounce.
‘I thought someone said Wagner was only bowling 115 kilometres an hour,’ Taylor joked.
‘He’s a bounce bowler. He didn’t play in the last game so he wanted to prove a point. His first spell of nine overs in that heat was a credit to him.’
Taylor also offered his thoughts on the wicket, which the Bangladesh camp had hoped before the match would provide more assistance for spinners than the surface in the first Test in Chittagong.
‘It’s probably a little drier, a little bit more abrasive I think. Already with only 55 overs there are a few footmarks; I’m sure the spinners will look forward to bowling on that on days three, four and five.
‘I think it is a totally different wicket to Chittagong and I think it will probably break up, but obviously with this weather around it might hold it together for a little bit longer.’
‘I think the wicket played the way we thought it would. It had a little bit more bounce in it than Chittagong, and it did swing probably a little bit more than Chittagong as well.’
Taylor said that the visitors did not have a particular total in mind for Bangladesh, but would look for early wickets when play resumes.
‘Our main focus is that our bowlers are still fresh and want to pick up early wickets whenever we do get out there.
‘If we can get them seven or eight down before the next new ball I’m sure whatever the total is then we’ll be very satisfied after Bangladesh winning the toss.’
-With New Age input
