Late wickets see Tigers end Day 1 on a positive note

Two late wickets saw Bangladesh end the opening day of their first Test on a positive note against New Zealand at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui today.  

New Zealand amassed 258 for five in 87.3 overs before stumps on Day 1 with Henry Nicholls unbeaten on 32. For Bangladesh, pacer Shoriful Islam remained the pick of the bowlers, scalping two crucial wickets to finish the day with figures of two for 53 in 20 overs that included five maidens.

Bangladesh Test skipper Mominul Haque removed New Zealand's centurion Devon Conway while Ebadot Hossain picked up the wicket of Tom Blundell in the final session as the visitors somewhat swayed the momentum of the game towards them near the end of the opening day's play.

Blundell's wicket was the last action of the day as the batter got an inside edge and played it onto his stumps. He walked off after a 25-ball 11.

Before that, Conway, who was almost flawless throughout the innings, fell prey to a harmless delivery by occasional bowler Mominul, who only introduced himself in the attack to give the regular bowlers some respite.

It was a length ball from Mominul that went down the leg side and Conway, who could have played it anywhere or even offered no shot, ended up getting a slight edge. And Liton Das, whose glovework has been excellent throughout the day, made no mistake grabbing it. 

Conway, after a well-deserved 227-ball 122, laced with 16 boundaries and a maximum, departed in an unexpected fashion. 

It was Conway who had dominated proceedings for the most part of the day's play. The left-hander began cautiously, taking 13 deliveries to get off the mark, and then picked up the pace as the surface became easier to bat on. He strung together stands of 138 and 50 runs with Will Young (52 off 135) and Ross Taylor (31 off 64) respectively. 

However, before Conway started building his ominous-looking stand with Young, Bangladesh pacers portrayed a quality showing of fast bowling in the first hour of the game. Both Taskin Ahmed and Shoriful kept beating the outside edges of the batters while maintaining a good channel that also kept the scoring rate in check. 

Shoriful even gave the Tigers an early breakthrough when he had New Zealand skipper Tom Latham caught behind, thanks to a brilliant diving catch by wicketkeeper Liton. The young left-arm pacer also removed Taylor, who is playing in his last Test series, in the final session of the day. 

Shoriful removes Taylor after Conway smashes ton

Bangladesh pacer Shoriful Islam took the prized wicket of New Zealand's Ross Taylor following tea on the opening day of the two sides' first Test at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui today.    

Taylor, playing his final Test series for the Kiwis, was caught at cover by Shadman Islam after he had tried to smash Shoriful for a boundary but failed to keep the shot low. Taylor returned after a 64-ball 31, laced with five boundaries.

Shoriful, who gave Bangladesh an early breakthrough, remains the pick of the bowlers for the Tigers so far. He is the only bowler to have claimed wickets on the day as the other wicket, that of Will Young, was courtesy of a run-out.    

The wicket of Taylor also ended a fifty-run stand between Taylor and Devon Conway, who brought up second Test ton after tea. Conway, who picked up the pace since a steady start, smashed a total of 14 boundaries and a maximum on way to the three-figure mark. 

The left-hander reached the landmark off 186 deliveries by pulling a short one from Taskin Ahmed to fine-leg for a single. 

Run-out ends century stand but NZ stay in control  

Even though a run-out ended an ominous-looking century stand between Devon Conway and Will Young, New Zealand still stay in firm control on the opening day of their first Test against Bangladesh at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui today. 

With Conway unbeaten on 88 and Ross Taylor four not out, New Zealand amassed 147 for the loss of two wickets in 54 overs before tea. 

The only thing that went for Bangladesh on the second session of the day was when Young was caught short of his crease after he had been refused by Conway a single.

Young, who was seemingly losing his patience, tried to steal a quick single after flicking a Mehedi Hasan Miraz delivery towards the mid-wicket region. Conway spotted the imminent danger and sent him back but a sharp throw and a laudable glovework by wicketkeeper Liton Das sent Young back to the pavilion, ending a 138-run stand between Conway and Young. 

Young departed after a 135-ball 52 that featured six boundaries. 

However, other than that wicket, New Zealand had everything under control. Conway, after a steady start, started to play more freely, pouncing on the short deliveries which have been coming on to the bat nicely on a pitch that seems to be getting batting-friendly as the day progresses. Smashing 13 fours and a maximum, Conway is just 12 runs away from picking up his second Test ton. 

Conway was joined by Ross Taylor at the crease with the crowd cheering him on as he made his way into the field for the first time since announcing his retirement. 

NZ regain control after Tigers' early dominance

New Zealand batters Devon Conway and Will Young regained control of the game following an hour of disciplined and quality fast bowling from the pace trio of Bangladesh on the opening day of their first Test at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui today. 

After being sent to bat in pace-conducive conditions, New Zealand scored 66 for the loss of one wicket in 27 overs at lunch. 

Conway and Young remain unbeaten on 36 and 27 respectively as the duo have now strung together a solid unbeaten 65-run stand. 

Things, however, were not so much in favour of the hosts in the first hour of the game. Pacers Taskin Ahmed and Shoriful Islam dominated proceedings early with the latter giving Tigers their first breakthrough in the fourth over. 

Shoriful, who had been shaping the ball away from left-handers, induced an inside edge off the bat of Kiwi skipper Tom Latham. The ball hit the left-hander's pad and went to the wicketkeeper who had to dive to his left to take a stunner. 

The pacers kept the pressure on for a while, with Conway needing to face 13 deliveries before being able to get off the mark. Even the first boundary of the game came in the 10th over when Young got off the mark with a four through the mid-wicket off a Shoriful delivery. 

Pacer Ebadot Hossain joined the attack in the ninth over but the right-armer, despite beating the outside edge on a few occasions, leaked runs. 

With Conway and Young slowly wearing out the pacers, things got easier for the Kiwi batters eventually. And a number of loose deliveries from the bowlers, like those by Shoriful that were put for successive boundaries through mid-on by a classy Conway in the 21st over, only saw the hosts ratchet up the scoring rate.  

Shoriful strikes early as Kiwis stay watchful 

Bangladesh pacers dominated proceedings so far in pace-conducive conditions at the Bay Oval on the opening day of their first Test against New Zealand today.  

After 12 overs, New Zealand, who were asked to bat first, scored 14 for the loss of one wicket. 

Left-arm pacer Shoriful Islam, who was considered for this Test ahead of the format's regular pacer Abu Jayed despite the latter impressing in the only two-day warm-up game, was the one to give Tigers their breakthrough in the fourth over.

The left-armer has been getting the ball to regularly shape away from left-hander Tom Latham, skipper of New Zealand. And with the odd one that angled in towards the left-handed batter, Shoriful was able to induce an inside edge off the bat of Latham. The ball hit the pad after getting an inside edge and it took a brilliant diving catch by wicketkeeper Liton Das to complete the dismissal. 

There were also a number of close calls as the likes of Taskin Ahmed, Ebadot Hossain alongside Shoriful have been consistently asking questions of the Kiwi batters. Devon Conway, who arrived at the pitch after Latham's dismissal, could only get off the mark after facing as many as 13 deliveries. 

For the other Kiwi opener Will Young, it took 22 deliveries to get off the mark but the right-hander did it with a boundary through mid-wicket in the 10th over. That was also the first boundary scored on the day. 

Tigers opt to bowl against NZ in first Test

Bangladesh have won the toss and will be bowling first against New Zealand on the opening day of the first of the two-Test series at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui today.  

With the windy condition and the Bay Oval surface having a green covering, it was no surprise that Bangladesh Test skipper Mominul Haque chose to field after winning the toss on the first day of 2022. 

Just as Bangladesh coach Russell Domingo had mentioned during the pre-match press conference yesterday, Bangladesh went with three seamers and just one spinner in the eleven. That left the Tigers with just four genuine bowling options.  

There are three changes for Bangladesh from the eleven that featured in the last Test that they lost against Pakistan at home. With premier all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan missing due to personal reasons, Yasir Ali, who had a promising debut in Chattogram last month, gets a nod. Left-arm spinner Taijul Islam and pacer Khaled Ahmed have been dropped to make way for pacers Taskin Ahmed and Shoriful Islam.     

Bangladesh have never won a single game in 32 outings across formats against the home side in their backyard. And coming from a 2-0 thumping to Pakistan at home in their latest Test series, the Tigers will definitely have their work cut out in conditions that have always troubled them. 

Meanwhile, New Zealand will be looking to bounce back to winning ways after a 1-0 series defeat away to India. This will also be Ross Taylor's final Test series as the right-hander is set to retire from international cricket after six ODIs against Australia and Netherlands later in the summer.  

The Kiwis have gone with four pacers and just an occasional spinner in Rachin Ravindra in the line-up. 

Squad: 

New Zealand: 1 Tom Latham (capt), 2 Will Young, 3 Devon Conway, 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Henry Nicholls, 6 Tom Blundell (wk), 7 Rachin Ravindra, 8 Kyle Jamieson, 9 Tim Southee, 10 Neil Wagner, 11 Trent Boult.

Bangladesh: 1 Shadman Islam, 2 Mahmudul Hasan Joy, 3 Najmul Hossain Shanto, 4 Mominul Haque (capt), 5 Mushfiqur Rahim, 6 Liton Das (wk), 7 Yasir Ali, 8 Mehidy Hasan Miraz, 9 Taskin Ahmed, 10 Ebadot Hossain, 11 Shoriful Islam.