Soumya Sarkar thrived under pressure taking blows to the body and getting battered by short deliveries but counter-attacking with efficiency to smash his maiden Test ton and equal record for fastest hundred scored by a Bangladesh batsman.

Bangladesh's troubles away from home, especially in Tests are well known. They crumbled in extraordinary fashion in the West Indies last

The sights of a batsman falling to the ground while trying to survive a bouncer and a tired bowler with his head down have been features of the Bangladesh cricketers as they head towards a comprehensive defeat in the first of the three-match Test series against New Zealand at Seddon Park.

Bangladesh’s troubles away from home, especially in Test matches are well known. They have crumbled in extraordinary fashion in the West Indies last year and there was an expectation that they will also struggle in New Zealand.

Bangladesh openers Tamim Iqbal and Shadman Islam get off to a solid and fast start in response to the mountain of runs that New Zealand scored in their first innings on the third day of the first Test at Seddon Park in Hamilton.

When Henry Nicholls was batting with New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson during the 100-run fourth-wicket stand yesterday, there

With the Bangladesh cricket team not having the best of times on their ongoing tour of New Zealand, there have inevitably been rumours

Seven sixes, four boundaries and an explosive unbeaten 29-ball 72 -- all-rounder Ziaur Rahman went absolutely berserk as he helped Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club register a five-wicket victory with 14 balls to spare against Shinepukur Cricket Club in the first semifinal of the inaugural edition of the Dhaka Premier League (DPL) T20 at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur yesterday.

It is all about having a clear mind and a specific game plan, but those are aspects in which Bangladesh were found wanting while New Zealand were one step ahead over the first two days of the first Test at Seddon Park in Hamilton.

Things did not start well for Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club but it all ended well as they overcame Shinepukur Cricket Club by five wickets to make it to the final of the inaugural Dhaka Premier League T20 tournament, thanks to a special knock by Ziaur Rahman.

The exclusion of Mustafizur Rahman from the first Test raised a few eyebrows among the Bangladesh cricket team fans. While the left-armer’s ODI exploits did not go unnoticed last year, his performances in the longest format of the game has not been very special. There was reason to believe that Fizz was dropped because of poor performances in Tests. Coach Steve Rhodes informed today that the left-armer was not included due to other reasons.

Bangladesh coach Steve Rhodes said that the team needs to do better in order to do well in overseas conditions and take Test matches to the fifth day. However, he was of the opinion that other teams also struggle in overseas Tests and that there are teams who have the same dilemma of thinking of ways to win in Bangladesh.

New Zealand addded a further 125 runs in the third session before stumps were called on Day 2 with the hosts firmly on top. Captain Kane Williamson, unbeaten on 93 is the third batsmen who can score a hundred for New Zealand in this innings. He put together a hundred-run partnership with Henry Nicholls for the fourth wicket before spinner Mehedi Hasan Miraz finally had something to smile about towards the end of the day, bagging Nicholls after the left-hander reached fifty.

Prime Doleshwar Sporting Club was the last team to make it to the semifinal of the maiden Dhaka Premier League (DPL) T20, and they did it in dramatic fashion by defeating Gazi Group by three wickets and 12 balls to spare courtesy of Forhad Reza's heroics at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur yesterday.

There were only three Test hundreds scored by a Bangladeshi batsman in New Zealand until yesterday -- Shakib Al Hasan's imperious double hundred in 2017, Mushfiqur Rahim's 159 in the same innings and Mahmudullah Riyad's 115-run knock in Hamilton in 2010.

"Every individual should have plans. I think we gave away our wickets away just when we were batting well. We have known for a long time that Neil Wagner will do this [bowl short balls], but how you tackle it depends on the individual.

Bangladesh opener Tamim Iqbal said they have only themselves to blame after folding on 234 despite making an excellent start in the

New Zealand pacer Neil Wagner said his five wickets were the just reward for the hard work he put in, especially bowling short deliveries and putting in a lot of effort into his overs, after getting Bangladesh bowled out cheaply on a decent wicket to bat on on the first day of the Hamilton Test.

Bangladesh opener Tamim Iqbal said they have only themselves to blame after folding for 234 despite making an excellent start in the first Test against New Zealand in Hamilton today. The left-hander, who got out for a 128-ball 126, saw his teammates giving their wickets away cheaply on a surface which looked greenish but offered little assistance to the bowlers.

A classy Tamim Iqbal ton had taken given Tigers the upper hand in what proved to be difficult conditions for the visitors but Bangladesh innings crumbled spectacularly after lunch as they lost eight wickets in 31.2 overs as Neil Wagner bagged five wickets.