There were two outlooks at the end of the second Bangladesh vs New Zealand test match. 1) Bangladesh was defeated by the margin of an innings and 117 runs. 2) In the end, the test series was drawn at 1-1 on the back of Bangladesh’s historic win in the first test.
The first outlook gives a disappointing picture – about the same results they keep enduring time and again in abroad test series. However, what the scoreline may not suggest is their character in an away test match. Though they were defeated by an innings, resilient Bangladesh didn’t go down without enduring some fight.
Bangladesh’s underwhelming 1st innings
Bangladesh batsmen were undone by the quality of Trent Boult and Tim Southee in the first innings. They were unable to pick the line, length, or swing of the mighty New Zealand pacers. This was a green-top pitch unlike the one used in the first test where Bangladesh registered a historic win.
Going into this test, the South Asian country had all the confidence but were unfamiliar with the conditions. Unfortunately, the latter led them to a mighty collapse in their first innings. Tim Southee and Trent Boult made the new ball talk and exploited the conditions very well unlike their Bangladesh counterpart. Boult got a five-for and achieved the milestone of 300 test wickets by dismissing Mehidy Hassan.
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NewZealand’s dominance
New Zealand scored 521/6d in the first innings which put the Bangladesh batsmen under pressure. Naturally, Bangladesh batsmen were unable to handle the pressure. In the first innings, New Zealand bowlers bundled them for a small total of 126. They were put to follow on by New Zealand as they were still 395 runs behind.
Resilient Bangladesh in the second innings
After the collapse in the first innings, Bangladeshi players showed resistance in the second innings. They batted a little more conservatively and were watchful to the swing and seam of Kiwi pacers. The pitch also seemed to have lost a bit of assistance for the seam movement after two days of play. It made the batting a little easier than the first innings. By the time, the batters had familiarized themselves with the conditions too.
Liton Das scored a breathtaking ton hoping to get his team past the innings defeat. But it all went in vain as Bangladesh was restricted to a total of 278 in their second innings which eventually led them to an innings defeat. They lost the match by an innings and 117 runs which end the series 1-1. Bangladesh will take a lot of positives from this Tour going forward.
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More importantly, their resilience in the second test and historic win in the first test are a few important sparks for the future of test cricket. As their star all-rounder – Shakib al Hasan – mentioned after the first game, the test match win without the big contribution of their top four will boost a lot of confidence for this group of players. These are the small wins that help any team achieve consistency. We hope that Bangladesh will achieve more such wins in the future.
Ross’s last as a Test Cricketer
This was the last International match of the New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor. His career has been simply amazing. He has been the highest run-scorer for New Zealand in international cricket. He wrapped things up by picking the last wicket of Bangladesh innings in his last test match. We wish all the luck for the remaining white-ball games and the second innings of his career.
What do you think?
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