On Day 3 of their second Test versus Bangladesh in Hamilton, when fortunes swung back and forth, New Zealand edged ahead at close of play. The hosts were 38 for 2, still trailing by 173.
After cleaning up the visiting side for just 211, the New Zealand camp would have hoped for a steady start. However, the pace duo of Abu Jayed and Ebadat Hossain combined to trouble New Zealand's openers. The pair extracted movement off the pitch with Jayed also generating a hint of swing to beat the bat of both Jeet Raval and Tom Latham on a few occasions.
Eventually, Jayed was rewarded for his perseverance as from round the wicket he got one to curve away to dismiss Latham. Raval followed his partner back to the hut by lofting a sucker ball from Jayed to covers.
Ross Taylor and Kane Williamson then survived a few anxious moments before a spell of rain forced the umpires to call off the rest of the final session. Among the two mainstays of New Zealand's batting order, Taylor took the aggressive route by cracking a few drives. On other hand, Hossain and Jayed have to be given credit for blending movement with control. Incidentally, the duo extracted more help from the surface than Trent Boult and Tim Southee could do with the new ball.
Unfortunately for Bangladesh, their batsmen let them down during the first two sessions. After the first two days were washed out due to rain, Kane Williamson won the toss and had inserted Bangladesh in on a track with a healthy dose of grass cover. However, Boult and Southee struggled to extract enough nip off the surface and also weren't able to hit the required line and length.
It was Tamim Iqbal (74) who played with a touch of fearlessness as he cut, drove and pulled the experienced pace pair. Shadman Islam also joined in the act by cracking a few boundaries as the openers stitched a stand of 75. Shadman, though, fell against the run of play with Colin de Grandhomme picking up the scalp. Matt Henry also deserves a mention, as the paceman found movement off the seam to put some pressure on the openers.
Despite losing his batting partner, Tamim continued to play a mature hand and soon reached his fifty by steering Henry to backward point. Unfortunately for Bangladesh, they yet again couldn't find an answer to navigate through the short-ball tactics of Neil Wagner as they lost Mominul Haque and Mohammad Mithun before the Lunch break. Both batsmen successfully reviewed caught behind decisions but succumbed to the very next ball in the 33rd and 35th over respectively.
Even after the break, Bangladesh couldn't counter Wagner's tried and tested formula. The left-armer accounted for the prized scalp of Tamim, who could only top edge a pull to Tim Southee. Soumya Sarkar gave a glimpse of his skills by lofting a fuller length delivery from Henry into the downtown territories. However, he too couldn't resist from employing the pull stroke as he fell to Henry.
Mahmudullah, who looked uncomfortable against Wagner, was the next one to be dismissed. The middle-order batsman tamely pushed a back of a length delivery to the fielder stationed at short midwicket. At that juncture, Liton Das joined forces with Taijul Islam to take Bangladesh to a score of some respectability.
Liton essayed a couple of sublime drives and also showed a bit of improvisation by backing away to slap Wagner through point. The duo also had a few scares on the way before Boult dismissed Taijul with a inswinger. Boult and Southee then combined forces to provide finishing touches by running through the lower order. Incidentally, Bangladesh lost their last four wickets for just five runs.
The tourists would rue some of the soft dismissals in the first two sessions, but their bowlers have given them a window of opportunity by striking early in the final session.
Brief scores: Bangladesh 211 (Tamim Iqbal 74; Neil Wagner 4-28, Trent Boult 3-38) lead New Zealand 38/2 (Abu Jayed 2-18) by 173 runs
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