Bangladesh got a taste of their own medicine on a raging turner on the opening day of the 2nd Test against New Zealand in Mirpur before dishing out exactly what they were served to the Black Caps.
It was an engaging contest but only if you are one of those who believe there is room for all kinds of pitches in Test cricket. Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner and Ajaz Patel rattled the Bangladeshis in their own den, bowling the hosts out for a mere 172. But if New Zealand thought that would give them a stranglehol on the game after losing the first Test, they were in for something else.
By stumps, New Zealand were reduced to 55 for 5 after the Bangladeshi spinners fired back on a pitch tailormade to their skills.
The first day of the Mirpur Test will be remembered for what the spinners did and the kind of purchase they got in conditions that were so much to their liking. Never before have 15 wickets fallen on the first day of any Test in Bangladesh and for a neutral observer, it was rivetting cricket.
There was drama and there was tension. If you have grown up to a staple of Test cricket in the subcontinent, you will know that these are the perfect ingredients for a Test match special in this part of the world.
Mushfiqur Rahim top-scored for Bangladesh with a solid 35 and he really was their best bet on a tricky pitch. Just when it looked like he would drop anchor and dig in deeper, Rahim became the first Bangladesh cricketer to be dismissed obstructing the field. Somewhere in Sri Lanka, Angelo Mathews would have smiled.
While the Rahim dismissal was perhaps the highlight of an engrossing day of Test cricket, the spinners were relentless and none of them got carried away with the extra turn on offer – the slower bowlers picked 14 of the 15 wickets to fall on the day.
Bangladesh, who opted to bat first after winning the toss, crumbled to 47 for 4 thanks to repeated strikes by Ajaz Patel and Mitchell Santner. Veteran batter Mushfiqur Rahim along with Shahadat Hossain tried to steady the ship with a crucial 57-run partnership before the former captain’s bizarre dismissal.
New Zealand should have fought harder after losing the first Test. However, familiar problems returned to haunt them on a pitch which was already crumbling. Batters needed to be a lot more resilient and footwork was going to be of paramount importance on a surface where spinners had the luxury to choose their lengths and stick to their plans without worrying about any margins for errors.
After Rahim’s brainfade moment, Bangladesh lost Hossain, who had also shown signs of playing a gritty knock. His 102-ball 31 had played a pivotal part in defying New Zealand’s rampaging spinners but that dismissal opened the floodgates and the Bangla Tigers were soon bowled out.
New Zealand will now hope for their two overnight batters Daryl Mitchell (12 not out) and Glenn Phillips (5 not out) to steer them out of choppy waters when play resues on Day 2 on Thursday. The umpires were forced to call early stumps on Wednesday due to poor light.
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