Friday 19 February 2010

For the 2nd time NZ score 258/5 in a day

Well Bangladesh enjoyed each and every moment in the first and the only test match that they played against New Zealand here in Hamilton. First, some sort of underestimation from the New Zealand side sees them making fools out of themselves after they lose 5 quick wickets for a score of just 158 on the board. And then, some late firing from Brendon McCullum and Martin Guptill sees New Zealand piling up a total in excess of 500 in their first innings. And then, Bangladesh also follows suit when they hammer 400+ and in the process avoid follow on and with it the innings defeat.

Now, on the 4th day's play, New Zealand take no chances and do what they are supposed to. They go in for a quickfire scoring when they end their second innings after declaring with the scoreboard reading 258/5. This is the same total that the New Zealand batsmen were found putting up in their first innings of the match on day 1. However, their batting was not that bad like they had in the first innings. Though New Zealand lost wickets at regular intervals, their body language very well showed that they had full control of the match and going wrong by any chance was completely ruled out.

Out of the 5 New Zealand wickets that fell in the second innings, three of them were run outs and moreover were set up by the Kiwi batsmen themselves. It was their hurry to keep the scoreboard ticking which saw them lose the battle with the stumps. The Bangladeshi bowlers could not stop McIntosh from striking 3 huge ones out of the ground. It was a bonus for Bangladesh to have had 5 Kiwi batsmen back in the pavilion. This once again shows that Bangladesh can cash out only from the mistakes that the opponent does and not by its own effort tame the same.

And later on, the New Zealand bowlers also followed suit which saw them bag 5 wickets with the scoreboard reading 88 runs. With an innings win out of question for the kiwis in the match, atleast a huge margin in terms of runs would be satisfactory for them I suppose. With still 317 runs needed for Bangladesh for an unlikely victory, New Zealand would have hoped for another test match in the tournament so that they undo the mistake they were found doing in the first and the lone test match at Hamilton. And, Bangladesh should stop hoping for the opposition to fare badly which they can cash out.

No comments: