Bangladesh 172 and 144 (Zakir Hasan 5nd9; Ajaz Patel 6-57, Mitchell Santner 3-51) lost to New Zealand 180 and 139-6 (Glenn Phillips 40 not out, Mitchell Santner 36no, Tom Latham 26; Mehidy Hasan Miraz 3-51, Taijul Islam 2-58) by four wickets.
A superb match double from Glenn Phillips has guided New Zealand to level their test series with Bangladesh.
In just his third test, the New Zealand batter made 40 not out in his side's second innings to get them home in a tense four-wicket win in Dhaka on Saturday.
Phillips, who top-scored in the first innings with 87, combined with fellow allrounder Mitchell Santner (35 not out) in an unbroken seventh-wicket partnership worth 70, after NZ had slumped to 69-6. Earlier, opener Tom Latham grafted for 60 balls for 26 on a woeful wicket which offered a ridiculous amount of turn and made batting virtually a lottery – and not a richly rewarding one.
Earlier, left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel led the way for New Zealand’s bowlers, taking 6-57 from 18 overs – his second-best return in tests behind his 10-wicket haul against India in Mumbai in 2021, and his fourth five-wicket bag in an innings in 16 tests.
Patel, who kissed the Mirpur stadium turf after taking his fifth wicket, was supported by Santner with 3-51 from 11 overs as the tourists used just three bowlers for the Bangladesh second dig, which lasted only 35 overs.
The 35-year-old ended with match figures of 8-111 and must wish he could roll up the Mirpur pitch and cargo it back to New Zealand, so he may add to his paltry collection of three test appearances in this country.
The hosts resumed their second innings on Saturday at 38-2, knowing that batting on a pitch offering more spin than the most seasoned politician was likely to be a short-lived affair.
So it proved, as New Zealand’s slow bowlers ripped through the remaining batters, but the hosts did get key resistance from inexperienced opener Zakir Hasan.
The left-hander became just the second player in the test to score more than 35 runs as he struck six fours and a six in making 59 from 86 balls in almost batting through the innings.
The visitors thought they had Zakir out lbw to Patel when on 40, as he came down the wicket and was struck on the pad when not playing a shot. The opener was given not out, New Zealand skipper Tim Southee asked for the decision to be reviewed, and the TV replays indicated the ball ‘would’ have hit the stumps, but because Zakir was hit when more than three metres down the pitch, the laws state he couldn’t be given out, due to the uncertainty of the ball-tracking given the distance it still had to travel.
Bangladesh’s last-wicket pair of Taijul Islam and Shoriful Islam added 16 runs to make New Zealand’s pursuit stickier, and when opener Devon Conway fell for just two, the pressure was instantly on the visiting side.
First-test century-maker Kane Williamson was stumped off the bowling of key Bangladesh left-arm tweaker Taijul to have NZ precariously placed at 24-2. Under-fire Henry Nicholls (3) was next to fall, to complete a forgettable series that returned just 25 runs from four innings.
New Zealand lost the first test in Sylhet last week by 150 runs.
Source: Stuff
BDST: 1548 HRS, DEC 09, 2023
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