Was it worth the six-year wait? Probably not.
Click photo to enlarge
Ross Taylor raises his bat after scoring 50 runs against
Bangladesh at the University Oval yesterday. Photo by Peter
McIntosh.
The weather played ball and a good crowd of 3100 shrugged
off the Monday time slot to attend the first one-dayer in the
city since February 2004, and the first at the University Oval.
Pity Bangladesh are not much chop and the game was as plain
as vanilla.
Still, it could have been worse.
Having slumped to 25 for five it looked as though the
tourists might struggle to reach 50.
Thankfully, Mushfiqur Rahim and Naeem Islam rescued the match
somewhat and saved the visitors further blushes with a
101-run stand for the seventh wicket.
The Tigers set a sedate pace but lifted their tempo towards
the end of their innings.
Remarkably they scored more than half of their runs in the
final 10 overs, piling on 92 runs to reach 183 for eight and
waking the spectators from their slumber.
It was a good recovery, all considered.
But it was a very modest total on a small ground and did not
present the Black Caps much of a challenge.
Brendon McCullum looked intent on an early finish but
eagerness proved his undoing, and Martin Guptill made a
bright start, rushing through to 32 before Rubel Hossain beat
him for pace with a delivery which kept low.
But once Ross Taylor started hitting sixes the home side
closed in on the target rapidly, reaching it with five
wickets in hand and 22.3 overs to spare.
Taylor was dropped on 18 by Mohammad Ashraful and responded,
as he often does, with a hitting spree.
He clouted five sixes and six fours in a devastating knock of
78, and combined in a 79-run stand with James Franklin, who
did a good job getting the punishing right hander back on
strike.
In sight of victory, Taylor found Mahmudullah in the deep and
Neil Broom was trapped in front first ball.
Skipper Daniel Vettori hit the winning runs moments later,
but his bowlers had set up the series-sealing victory.
Andy McKay has made a promising start to his fledgling
international career and enhanced his reputation further with
an impressive spell of bowling.
The Wellington left armer bowled with good pace but it was
his line and length which caused the most problems.
He got the opening breakthrough when he elicited an edge from
Tamim Iqbal's bat and, later, produced a dynamite ball to
dismiss Shakib Al Hasan.
A full delivery, it swung in late and beat a desperate
attempt to clamp down on it.
McKay bowled three maidens and took two for four from his
first seven overs and finished with two for 17 from 10 overs.
A frugal effort but well shy of Ewen Chatfield's miserly
spell of one for eight from 10 overs against Sri Lanka in
Dunedin in 1982-83.
It remains a New Zealand limited-overs record.
How good is McKay? We will find out later this month when
Australia arrives.
A moment of madness accounted for Imrul Kayes.
Inexplicably he set off on a second run for reasons only he
can explain and was summarily run out.
Ashraful hit a sharp return catch to Daryl Tuffey, and when
Aftab Ahmed was caught behind, Bangladesh was facing
humiliation at 25 for five.
Naeem Islam was fortunate not to be dismissed when he was on
eight.
Otago bowling all-rounder Ian Butler hit the top of the bail.
It wobbled but remained in place.
Rahim provided his side's only real highlights at the death.
He brought up the team 100 with lofted shot over midwicket
and followed it up with a pull shot through the same area.
It took until the 45th over before a six was hit, which Rahim
provided - a beauty, over long on and into the grandstand.
The shot brought up his fifth ODI 50.
On 86 he tried to ramp Butler over the keeper but was trapped
in front.
Butler had a poor last over but bowled well and Vettori went
wicketless but was economical.
The final match of the three-game series is in Christchurch
on Thursday.
