NZ v BAN, 1st Test Day 2 Review: Shakib and Mushfiqur add 359 as Bangladesh consolidate lead

Shakib-Al-Hasan went ahead and put Bangladesh in the lead with an impressive show of batting as he smashed an impressive 217 on the second day’s play against the Kiwis at Christchurch. However, there was also no respite for the bowlers as even Mushfiqur Rahim went ahead and smashed a few impressive strokes to ensure that the Bangladeshis went ahead and accumulated some runs on the board.

The day began quite poorly for Bangladesh as they lost Mominul Haq was dismissed quite early on in the day. Once again, it was the combination of Tim Southee and Trent Boult who ensured that the wicket had well and truly fallen.

However, what came next completely unleashed something the Kiwis were certainly not expecting. Moreover, there was also something that took the Kiwis aback by quite a bit. The duo of Shakib-Al-Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim came into bat quite early on in the day as they began to combat the New Zealand bowling with some aggression.

Little did they know that they would be taking the Bangladesh record books to the cleaners. Along the way,  Along the way, they would go on to break the record for the highest partnership record for Bangladesh with 359 runs and couple their second highest Test score overseas with 542/7.

As captain, Mushfiqur Rahim is perhaps the best man to lead the side. The blows on his gloves were simply nothing compared to what he had to deal with when it came to captaining the side. He simply had no problems ensuring that he would bat until the close of play. Perhaps the blows to his fingers would not hurt him as much as a Bangladesh collapse would.

The duo batted the entire lunch session as the right-left combination ensured that the New Zealand bowlers had a terrible time with the ball. In fact, Neil Wagner steamed in without much respite as it was only the last few overs of the day wherein both of these wickets were taken.

A flurry of wickets also fell towards the close of play as seven wickets would eventually fall. A wicket off the final ball of the day – Mehedi Hasan for 0 – rang a little hollow for New Zealand, but they shouldn’t lose hope yet. The pitch has flattened out, there were no signs of deterioration and the outfield is lightning. There are runs still to be had at Basin Reserve.

Brief Scores:

Bangladesh, 1st innings: 542/7 (Shakib 217; N Wagner 3/124)