Tim Southee’s side were today thrashed by 150 runs in the first test in Sylhet, unable to mount a miraculous fifth-day revival after crumbling with the bat on the fourth afternoon.
It was Bangladesh’s first test victory over the Black Caps at home, having enjoyed a historic eight-wicket triumph over the hosts in Mount Maunganui in January 2022.
Excluding matches against Zimbabwe and Afghanistan, only once in tests have Bangladesh enjoyed a more comprehensive win by runs, their 2018 thumping of the West Indies by an innings and 184 runs in Mirpur.
The hosts’ performance this week was every bit as dominant as the margin would suggest.
Taijul Islam completed the rout with another two scalps on the fifth morning, earning player-of-the-match honours while finishing with 10 wickets.
The New Zealand batters had few answers for the hosts’ spin-heavy attack on a track that turned but maintained its consistency in a manner that belied the Black Caps’ fourth-innings collapse.
Set a target of 332 for victory, the tourists last night slumped to stumps on 113-7, with only Daryl Mitchell offering any resistance.
The No 5 today resumed unbeaten on 44 and, requiring 219 runs to complete what would have been a record chase, immediately showed his intent by coming down the track and smacking Taijul for four from the third ball.
But after reaching his ninth test 50, Mitchell swept Nayeem Hasan to backward square in the 10th over of the day, where Taijul took the catch to quash the Black Caps’ faint hopes.
Southee joined Ish Sodhi and launched a few lofty blows in a 24-ball cameo of 34 — going past West Indies great Sir Viv Richards with his 85th career six. The pair raced to an innings-high 46-run stand before Southee’s dismissal, and the inevitable came when the staunch resistance of Sodhi (22 off 91) was ended by Taijul before lunch.
The second and final test starts on Wednesday in Dhaka.
Ny Kris Shannon
