DHAKA: New Zealand’s Mitchell Santner and Glenn Phillips showcased exceptional bowling performances, claiming 3-65 and 3-31 respectively, as they dominated Bangladesh in their pursuit to level the two-match Test series. Opting to bat at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, Bangladesh faced an early setback at 47-4, but Mushfiqur Rahim’s resilience led a recovery.
Mushfiqur top-scored with 35 and formed a crucial 57-run partnership with Shahadat Hossain, stabilizing the innings after the early spin assault by Santner and Ajaz Patel. However, in a rare incident, Mushfiqur faced an obstructing-the-field dismissal in the second session, swatting the ball away with his hand after defending a delivery from Kyle Jamieson.
The dismissal marked an unusual event in Test cricket, with England’s Leonard Hutton being the only other batsman to be dismissed similarly in 1951. Following Mushfiqur’s departure, Phillips struck by dismissing Shahadat (31) and Nurul Hasan (seven), deepening Bangladesh’s troubles.
Santner continued to make an impact, taking the wicket of Mehidy Hasan (20), while Phillips secured his third wicket by trapping Taijul Islam leg before for six. Tim Southee added to Bangladesh’s woes by dismissing Shoriful Islam for 10, concluding the innings.
New Zealand’s dominance in the second Test was evident, with Southee impressively not conceding a run in his 5.5 overs. Earlier, Zakir Hasan and Mahmudul Hasan’s 29-run opening stand for Bangladesh was marred by a disastrous five overs, leading to the loss of four wickets for just 18 runs.
Bangladesh, aiming for their first-ever Test series win over New Zealand after a convincing victory in Sylhet, faces an uphill battle in the ongoing Test match. New Zealand’s strong performance positions them favorably to level the series and set the stage for an intriguing conclusion.
