New Zealand vs Bangladesh 1st Test, Day 2- 5 Talking Points

What an eventful 2nd day’s play it turned out to be as far as Bangladesh were concerned as they batted superbly and smashed the Kiwi bowlers all around Wellington before ending the day’s play at a mammoth 542/7. Former captain Shakib Al Hasan was in the form of his life and along with Mushfiqur Rahim the duo stitched together a monumental 359 runs partnership for the 6th wicket which helped Bangladesh consolidate to a position of strength. Both Rahim and Shakib was eventually in the fag end of the day but by then they had put the visitors in the driver’s seat.

The New Zealand bowlers toyed hard to break the partnership but both the batsmen defied them with disdain and scored at a brisk pace. While Shakib’s 214 came in 276 balls, Rahim consumed 260 balls for his wonderful 159. Trent Boult, Tim Southee and Neil Wagner all chipped in with a couple of wickets each for New Zealand but the day entirely belonged to the duo of Shakib and Mushfiqur. Here we have a look at 5 talking points from the 2nd day’s play

1. Mominul Haque falls after scoring a fluent half-century

After 50 overs were lost due to rain on the opening day of the Test, the proceedings began a little early. Shakib and Mominul Haque who were the two overnight batsmen began cautiously. Just when they were looking to take their partnership to a substantial margin Haque surrendered his wicket in the 4^4th over of the bowling of Tim Southee.

The angle from around the wicket made Mominul poke at the delivery. By then he had left everything outside the off stump but this time he wasn’t able to resist the temptation. The ball pitched in the good length area and moved away. It thudded off the deck and Mominul was unable to tackle the ferocious delivery. It took the outside edge of the bat and was safely gobbled by BJ Watling standing behind the stumps.

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2. The unending 6th wicket partnership

After the fall of Mominul Haque’s wicket, Mushfiqur Rahim joined Shakib in the middle. They were troubled by some good deliveries by Southee and Boult early on but they played out the initial burst with caution but once they were set, both of them started taking on the New Zealand bowlers.

Shakib was the attacking partner in the partnership but equal credit must be given to the duo for rescuing the visitors from a precarious situation. While Shakib went on to notch a brilliant double century which came in quick time, Mushfiqur Rahim was dismissed at the score of 159.

3. Mushfiqur Rahim’s brilliant century

With the score at 165/4, Mushfiqur Rahim joined Shakib-al-Hasan in the middle. Mushfiqur began cautiously and was troubled by Southee and Wagner in the initial phase of his innings. He slowly but steadily grew in confidence and started hitting some crisp drives. One of the bowling of Wagner in the 54th over will stand out. The way he leant onto the delivery and stroked it towards the cover boundary was sheer magic.

With each passing delivery he was oozing confidence and along with Shakib, the duo was taking Bangladesh to a position of strength. Mushfiqur reached the elusive three-figure mark in the 97th over of the innings of the bowling of Tim Southee. The Bangladesh dressing room was on their feat seeing the comeback man scoring a brilliant century after being sidelined for a while due to a hamstring injury.

He kept on the good work and also completed a brilliant 150 but during the fag end of the day, the partnership was broken as Rahim was dismissed by Trent Boult with a fuller length delivery which moved away just a bit after pitching.

4. Shakib Al Hasan’s historic double century

What a historic day it turned to be for Bangladesh and their former captain Shakib Al Hasan. The free flowing southpaw scored a brilliant double century to put the visitors in a position of strength by the end of the 2nd day’s play of the 1st Test at Wellington. Starting off proceedings with Mominul Haque, Shakib lost his partner early but he was no mood to give up.

He took an aggressive approach and struck some lusty blows during his monumental innings of 214. There was no respite for the bowlers as Shakib found the boundary ropes on a consistent basis which made Kane Williamson a tad worried man. The southpaw played some delightful shots, especially when nearing his century and eventually reached the elusive mark in the 90th over.

The hard-hitting batsman kept going and punished the Kiwi bowlers all around Wellington. He reached his double century in the 125th over by hitting a boundary of Grandhomme and became only the 3rd Bangladeshi after Tamim Iqbal and his partner Mushfiqur Rahim to notch up a double century in Test cricket.

5. Neil Wagner never gives up

The big-hearted left-arm fast bowler was the pick of the New Zealand bowlers who finished with figures of 3/124 in 36 overs. Wagner though went for some runs but he kept bowling at the right areas and eventually got his rewards. He had yesterday dismissed Mahmudullah with a short delivery which cramped him for room and eventually gave an easy catch to the wicket-keeper BJ Watling.

Despite bowling his heart out in the morning session he was unable to get any breakthrough amidst a brilliant partnership with Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim. His hard work at last paid off as he added two more wickets to his kitty by dismissing Shakib and Mehedi Hasan during the fag end of the day. Despite Southee and Boult being the premier pacers, Wagner was the standout performer in an otherwise gloomy day for the hosts.