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.

Bangladesh avoid innings defeat

Well, this is one area where Bangladesh has found itself doing in the recent past. Bangladesh despite long the test series with a whitewash, irrespective of whether it is played at home or outside, they are found to give their opposition a tough fight. This was evident from the fact that they despite losing both the test matches against India last month never had an innings defeat whatsoever. This was more so after their series whitewash over West Indies which saw Bangladesh notching their first test series win. That was also the 1^st time Bangladesh had a test win against a team other than Zimbabwe.

However, every time Bangladesh go out to play test cricket, they are aided by the opposition who at most of the times take Bangladesh for granted and end up paying the price which is the difference between an innings win and a just win. This is also the difference between a comfortable win and a gasping win. And, this time as well the situation was no different when New Zealand, after being put into bat by Bangladesh ended their first day's play with just over 250 on the board. Luckily, as it always happens McCullum and Guptill fought back before it would have been all over for NZ.

However, if the 3^rd day's play is considered, once again New Zealand will have to curse themselves for being at such a bad situation when Bangladeshi batsmen scored runs at will and not only put up a total in excess of 400 but also maintained a run rate in excess of 4 an over, which is a pretty decent one as far the standard of test cricket is considered. There was also a Bangladeshi batsmen in Mahmudullah who scored 115 runs. Bangladesh had put up a score greater than what the Kiwi batsmen could with the loss of 5 wickets. By the time the 5th wicket for Bangladesh was down, the scoreboard read 179 which is greater than 158 that NZ could manage.

This would not have been what the New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori would have been looking for after his team put up 553 runs on the board. All Vettori would have wanted is to bowl out Bangladesh for a score less than 200 and impose a follow-on and get them out soon once again so that the match can be finished with a day to spare. Can anyone of you believe it- it was a number 8 batsmen in Mahmudullah who put up a century and took his team to a commanding total as far as the standards of test cricket in Bangladesh is considered.

India take no chances this time

With the thrashing what they received in the first test at Chittagong, India were in no mood to relax keeping in mind that they had to prove a lot of things in the second test at Dhaka. And, the Indian players did just that. Added to everything that happened earlier in the tournament, India were convinced after the return of the regular captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni who had to miss the first test owing to a back injury, which India had to put in a delayed and extra effort to see them through that match. But now, everything looks to be intact for India.

The Bangladeshi batsmen that includes Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes and other lesser known names as far as international cricket is considered had absolutely no answers for the Indian bowlers that had the likes of Zaheer Khan, Ishanth Sharma in the lead. Unlike in the first test where it was all left on the experienced lads like Sachin Tendulkar and Zaheer Khan to fight it out, this time it was Ishanth Sharma who did everything he could with the ball. What a match it was with both the openers Tamim Iqbal and Imrul Kayes getting out for a duck! One need not forget the caliber of the Bangladesh team when citing the above deeds.

However, Bangladesh didn't stop reminding the world regarding the improvement they have shown in recent years and also showed that they are very much interested in playing test cricket as good as any other test playing nation. In fact, Bangladesh are the only team who are found putting up more hard work than any other team in today's test cricket. If a close look at the 9 test playing nations in today's cricket is given a close look at, no country is found playing the game the way it is supposed to be played. Finally, there has to be one winner and one loser for every game.

However, there was a late swing in the Bangladeshi tale when the number 8 batsman in Mahmudullah scored 96 runs and there were also four batsmen who scored in excess of 30 runs. This was hardly expected from a Bangladeshi team that was at one stage found reeling at 51 runs for the loss of 5 wickets. The last two wickets of the Bangladeshi innings lasted for 78 runs which is too costly as far as Bangladesh is considered. India should not have allowed Bangladesh go past 200 runs with all these in hand. But, once again, a little bit of underestimation made this turn into reality.