Captain Kane’s victory cruise
When Kane Williamson trudged off a cold, windswept Basin Reserve on Saturday, test victory was the furthest thing from his mind.
The almanacks don’t lie. No team had won a test after conceding 595 in the first innings, and on a ground where records can tumble, this one looked a bridge too far.
But Williamson is no ordinary cricketer. About 48 hours later he stood calmly with bat and helmet raised, the sun-drenched masses on the hill rose and roared, and New Zealand had beaten Bangladesh by seven wickets in the first test with 17 overs to spare.
The New Zealand captain’s 15th test century was one of his most comfortable, 104 not out off 90 balls as he guided home the chase for 217 with backup from trusty deputy Ross Taylor (60 off 77).
Unlikely test victories are fast becoming captain Williamson’s thing, after the Hamilton heartstopper against Pakistan in November. New Zealand are now three for three in home tests this summer and will back themselves to polish off a wounded, weary Bangladesh in Friday’s second and final test in Christchurch.
This one turned on Sunday afternoon when the sun poked through, after man of the match Tom Latham’s highest test score of 177 helped the Black Caps get within 56. Declaring well behind was not an option for Williamson, and after Imrul Kayes became the first of two Bangladesh players to visit Wellington Hospital, the tourists lost 3-16 and the plunge was on.
‘‘We had to get as close as we could to their score. We knew the wicket was still good but if we were able to put them under pressure late in the day and take a few wickets it might help our cause,’’ Williamson said. ‘‘The guys stepped up after the first innings, showed a lot of energy and put the ball in the right area.’’
New Zealand got on a roll, and Bangladesh essentially rolled over after leading so well from the front for nearly four days. Much like the limited overs series, finishing the job was again a problem for the tourists who are 0-7 on this tour and 0-6 in tests in New Zealand.
It didn’t help that their captain Mushfiqur Rahim was on the way to hospital at 12.30pm. Floored after ducking into a Tim Southee bouncer amid a New Zealand barrage, Mushfiqur lay prone and was stretchered into an ambulance in distressing scenes, before neck x-rays cleared him of injury. He’d already been x-rayed and cleared of fractures to his thumb and index finger which stopped him keeping wicket.
‘‘We have ourselves to blame. In the second innings we could have batted well. We were unlucky in the sense regarding injury, yes,’’ senior batsman Tamin Iqbal said.
Even after scoring 595-8, the country’s second-highest test total as Shakib Al Hasan plundered their highest innings of 217 and added 359 with Mushfiqur, they weren’t confident.
‘‘We always believed this test match is not over yet and there will be one session or period of 20-25 overs for both the teams where whoever does well in that small session might win the test, and that’s what New Zealand did better than us,’’ Tamim said.
After all Shakib’s first innings highs, his shot on nought to Mitchell Santner was a dreadful low. Santner, after dropping Shakib on four on day one, had an excellent second innings with bat and ball.
After New Zealand sent Bangladesh in on a soft pitch that didn’t seam as much as expected, it quickened up and became a batsman’s dream. There was another record, too, with 1511 runs the most scored in a Basin test.
After Trent Boult (3-53) finished the Bangladesh second innings of 160 with some rapid reverse swing, a chase of 217 at 3.8 per over held few fears.
Even after Jeet Raval and Latham were both removed by Mehedi Hasan’s spin to be 39-2, Williamson and Taylor were the right men and combined to add 163 with many boundaries across the quick outfield but minimal dramas running between the wickets.
‘‘We needed to knuckle down, get a partnership together and get a bit of momentum. When you’re 2-30, 200 can be quite a long way away in the last innings. It was nice to get that momentum. Throughout the game it was fast scoring,’’ said Williamson.