Black Caps batsmen punish impotent Bangladesh
Tamim Iqbal was right.
The Bangladesh opener, after smashing 126 on day one, feared the Black Caps were set for excellent batting conditions when the first test resumed yesterday and Jeet Raval and Tom Latham did not miss out, plundering multiple records and milestones on day two in Hamilton.
First, Raval finally notched his maiden test century as the hosts surpassed Bangladesh’s 234 all out with ease after lunch and New Zealand’s opening pair coasted to 254 for the first wicket.
Raval fell for 132 off 220 balls, having hit 19 fours and one six before the tourists claimed their first wicket of the day with tea approaching at Seddon Park.
Then Latham took centre stage, passing 150 for the fourth time in tests after recording his ninth test century in the second session.
Latham was gone for 161 off 248 balls moments after tea but New Zealand’s lead grew to 217 by stumps, with the hosts 451-4, after Bangladesh’s bowling unit posed little threat.
Captain Kane Williamson (93) will resume with nightwatchman Neil Wagner (one) today after Henry Nicholls fell for 53 – bowled by Mehedy Hasan – towards the close of play after their late 100-run partnership for the Black Caps.
Earlier, Raval held his nerve to reach his first ton after 163 balls in his 17th test and his stylish knock was full of class and purpose as New Zealand’s openers set a commanding tone, resuming on 86-0 with a BANGLADESH
First innings 234
NEW ZEALAND
First innings
J Raval c Ahmed b Mahmudullah ......... 132 T Latham c Mithun b Sarkar ...................... 161 K Williamson not out ...................................... 93 R Taylor lbw b Sarkar ........................................ 4 H Nicholls b Hasan .......................................... 53 N Wagner not out ................................................. 1 Extras (5lb, 1nb, 1w) ............................................ 7 Total (for 4 wkts, 118 overs) ...................... 451 Fall: 254 (Raval), 333 (Latham), 349 (Taylor), 449 (Nicholls).
Bowling: A Jayed 23-4-65-0, E Hossain 21-4-77-0, K Ahmed 22-6-84-0 (1nb), S Sarkar 19-1-57-2 (1w), M Hasan 31-2-149-1, M Mahmudullah 1-0-3-1, M Haque 1-0-11-0.
148-run deficit.
The Auckland batsman was soon joined on three figures by Latham.
The left-handed duo’s 254-run stand was New Zealand’s highest first-wicket partnership against Bangladesh in tests, the highest between the pair, the third highest opening partnership for New Zealand in tests, and New Zealand’s highest opening stand since 1972.
It was also the first time both New Zealand openers have scored centuries in the same innings of a test since Mark Richardson and Lou Vincent against India in Mohali in October, 2003.
Latham passed 3000 runs in tests in matching his partner’s knock for a third ton of a prolific summer, smashing 17 fours and three sixes, but the relief for Raval to reach a century was palpable.
The 30-year-old has shown promise since his test debut in 2016, but the question of whether he was capable of converting good starts to big scores has lingered.
His form has dipped but he finished last year with 74 against Sri Lanka in Christchurch, suggesting a century wasn’t too far away.
After a flurry of runs to break New Zealand’s shackles on day one, Raval continued to score leisurely and elegantly.
He raised his bat just before lunch, bringing up 1000 tests runs in the process, after emphatically pulling two successive fours to the rope.
In his first over, Bangladesh captain Mahmudullah accounted for Raval, caught slicing a top edge to Khaled Ahmed, and Latham was later out nicking one to Mohammad Mithun off Soumya Sarkar’s bowling at 332-2.
Soumya struck twice with the new ball – also trapping Ross Taylor lbw for four – but Williamson and Nicholls’ 50s maintained New Zealand’s momentum for day three.
Joseph Pearson