MNA Sports Desk: On one of the more miserable days at the ground Wellingtonians like to call New Zealand cricket’s HQ, Bangladesh made strongly decent fist of batting first, and battling blustery northerly winds to reach 154 for three in 40.2 overs.
Another similarly resolute performance tomorrow, and Bangladesh will have, at the least, giving New Zealand plenty of food for thought.
”It was Bangladesh’s day,” seamer Neil Wagner admitted.
Indeed had Mahmudullah not departed late on to a poor shot chasing a widish ball, it would have been a fine day for the tourists, considering the perceived relative merits of the teams when it comes to test cricket.
There’s much play to run in this series, but assuming Bangladesh want to make it clear from the start that they’re determined not to be the soft touches of old, they could scarcely have done much more over the course of today’s 40.2 overs.
Lefthander Tamim strongly grabbed his fourth half century in six innings in New Zealand, at a rapid rate, then another leftie, little Mominul Haque, and Mahmudullah put on 80 for the third wicket, all the while being blown around in Wellington’s wind tunnel.
Mominul starts tomorrow at 64, eyeing a third century against New Zealand. It was no fun watching today with a constant crashing and banging around the stand, and no fun for Sky’s camera staff either.
Ground staff battled gamely against pitch covers which had a mind of their own when the breeze got up. It was the Basin at its most bloody-minded.