Vettori made the difference

Bangladesh came close to clinching their first Test victory against New Zealand but, despite being in control for the majority of the match, the hosts slipped to defeat by three wickets in Chittagong. Mohammad Ashraful, the Bangladesh captain, said that his team played "really well" but added that New Zealand's ability to avoid their first-innings mistakes made the difference during their chase of 317.

"We had a pretty good chance of winning and, on an individual level, I thought Shakib Al Hasan bowled and batted wonderfully well, Mushfiqur Rahim made runs in both innings and Tamim Iqbal got starts in both innings," Ashraful said. "The difference between the two sides was Daniel Vettori who was brilliant with the bat and ball. Also they [New Zealand] planned their second innings really well and did not repeat the mistakes they did in the first innings."

Unlike his counterpart Vettori, who took nine wickets and scored two vital half-centuries, Ashraful had a poor match, scoring 2 and 0, and fell to Vettori in both innings. "I have played match-winning knocks in most of Bangladesh's big wins in one-day cricket but it hasn't happened for me in Tests yet. I tried my best but wasn't successful," Ashraful said. "There is another Test in this series and I will continue to try and hopefully it will happen in the future.

New Zealand began the day needing 172 to win with eight wickets in hand. At one stage they needed 101 with only five wickets remaining but Vettori steered his team home with a calm 76. Jamie Siddons, the Bangladesh coach, felt that the visitors had "learned their lessons pretty well" after being dismissed for 171 in the first innings.

"They [New Zealand] planned well, didn't play any unnecessary shots and made us [work] for every wicket," Siddons said. "They batted with discipline and didn't give us any chances. Hopefully our guys can learn a bit from that, especially our top-order.

"Having outbatted them and bowled so well in the first innings makes me happy. Everything's looking good with young guys like Mehrab [Hossain jr] and Shakib, and we'll get Ashraful and Zunaed (Siddique) to play well. I need all the guys to play well in the one game but at the moment we are a little inconsistent."

Siddons praised left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak's performance in the second innings. Razzak bowled 50 overs and took 3 for 93. "He tied up an end beautifully for us and bowled at two an over," Siddons said. "He stretched the game out which you have to do when you have 300 on the board. He made them work very hard for their runs. He got a couple of wickets but we didn't quite get enough from the other end."

Siddons hoped that his team would be able to catch New Zealand "on the hop" in Dhaka where the pitch "stays low and plays tricks". The second Test begins on October 25 at the Shere-e-Bangla Stadium.

Shakib helps stretch lead to 258

Shakib Al Hasan once again stepped up for his team, this time with the bat, as Bangladesh seized the advantage on the third day of the first Test against New Zealand in Chittagong. The day started with Shakib bagging the best innings haul by a Bangladesh bowler to restrict New Zealand to 171, before his first Test half-century helped his team to 184 for 8, a formidable lead of 258.

Overnight on 155 for 9, Daniel Vettori started with the intention to reduce the deficit, but Shakib bowled Iain O'Brien through his legs to hand his team a 74-run first-innings lead. Bangladesh then began their second innings far more positively than their first. They looked to score runs and kept their run-rate above three for most of the morning. It was in direct contrast to the first innings, where the run-rate hovered around one for 40-odd overs.

After the early loss of Junaid Siddique to Kyle Mills for 6, some excellent spin bowling by Daniel Vettori and Jeetan Patel choked the runs, which led to a spree of wickets before lunch. Patel had Rajin Saleh caught in front of his stumps by bringing the ball back from well outside the off stump. In the next over, Vettori claimed the prize scalp of Mohammad Ashraful, who got an outside edge to a ball he was trying to dispatch over mid-off and was brilliantly caught at point by Aaron Redmond.

The hosts were reduced to 48 for 4 when Patel took the wicket of first-innings hero Mehrab Hossain jnr just before lunch. After the fall of Tamim Iqbal - the only batsman to reach double figures among the top five - soon after the break, Shakib joined Mushfiqur Rahim at the crease with his team facing the prospect of being scuttled for an embarrassingly low total.

Just as Vettori had done the previous day, Shakib looked composed from the beginning. He hit the bad balls to the boundary and pushed for singles from the good deliveries. He put on a valuable 56 with Mushfiqur and 48 with Naeem Islam, two stands that could prove vital. He was finally caught by Ross Taylor in the slips off Vettori for a well-compiled 71. He hit 12 fours and faced 151 balls.

The hosts ended the day at 184 for 8, a lead of 258. Vettori finished with 4 for 39 and Patel 2 for 52. Before the day began, chasing between 250 and 300 might have seemed beyond the New Zealanders, but the pitch began to lose its venom as the day progressed. The ball stopped turning and didn't bounce as much as it did on the first few days. The cracks didn't open up in line with expectations, and the lack of turn and bounce was why Vettori used fast bowlers Jacob Oram, Kyle Mills and O'Brien in the final session of the day. However, the heat made it difficult for them to bowl long spells, with the temperature hovering around 37º C.

After the day's performance, Bangladesh look favourites for a second Test win, but with the pitch easing out, New Zealand would hope conditions stay the same for their fourth-innings chase.

Naeem set for Test debut

Naeem Islam is set to earn his first Test cap for Bangladesh in the first Test against New Zealand starting Friday at Chittagong. Having made his ODI debut in the recently-concluded three-match series against the same opposition, he will become the 51st Test player for Bangladesh.

"Once I heard that I would be in the Test team, I was very happy. It is like a dream for me," Naeem said. "There are no personal goals for me but to bat for a long time. Although I like batting between four and six, I would stick to whatever the team tells me to do."

Primarily a middle-order batsman, his useful offspin will give Bangladesh the option of an additional allrounder as they look for their first series win against New Zealand. "I am used to bowling 15-20 overs so and if the captain asks me to bowl more than that, I must try to do that," said Naeem.

Though run out without facing a single ball in his very first innings in the second ODI at Dhaka, Naeem put up a much better show with an unbeaten 46 in the next match at Chittagong. He also contributed with the ball picking up three wickets at 34.66.

This apart, the 21-year-old who plays for Rajshahi in Bangladesh's domestic circuit, has been in good form for the last two seasons and his time in the Bangladesh Cricket Board Academy and the Bangladesh A team has admittedly helped his chances of staking a claim in the Test team.

"I have been playing with the Academy and A team in foreign conditions so probably I felt much calmer because of that," said Naeem, who captained the Academy team in their 2-1 ODI series victory against the Sri Lanka Academy XI last month.

Rajshahi captain Khaled Mashud backed Naeem's inclusion and felt the player deserved his chance. "He has the quality of playing in the longer version and he deserves to play for Bangladesh given his domestic performance. I think he is a rare breed among offspinners because he can read a batsman and not just bowl offbreak for the sake of bowling."

Taylor century grabs series

Bangladesh had a bright start to the 100th ODI in the country, but hopes of a possible series win dimmed once two of New Zealand's emerging talents, Ross Taylor and Jamie How, stepped up to the challenge, and Bangladesh's top order capitulated. Although they failed to pull off their first series victory over a major Test-playing nation, Bangladesh, who'd lost several regulars to the ICL, gained in confidence during the contest.

That confidence showed as their new-ball bowlers - Mashrafe Mortaza and Syed Rasel - accounted for both openers, reducing New Zealand to 13 for 2. The New Zealand top order had collapsed in the first two one-dayers but How and Taylor averted a repeat by putting on a century stand.

Taylor scored his third ODI century while How provided the early momentum during his 73 to help New Zealand reach 249, their highest total of the series. How sparked off the recovery, scoring quickly to put the pressure back on the bowlers. Mortaza's first four overs went for just five runs, but How opened up with two fours in each of the next two overs.

Taylor took time to get his eye in, but neither batsmen let Abdur Razzak, the left-arm spinner, settle. In his third over, Razzak was hit over long-on by Taylor; How followed up with a four through the same region. Nor were the other spinners allowed to bowl too many tight overs.

How was lbw to offspinner Naeem Islam after putting on 125 for the third wicket and Taylor then took charge to ensure the scoring-rate was kept above six. Two quick wickets, however, hampered their chances of pushing the run-rate in the third Powerplay (overs 35-40). Taylor fell in the 47th over to Mortaza soon after reaching his hundred; only 44 of his runs coming in boundaries. Daniel Vettori and Kyle Mills maintained the momentum, adding 30 in the last three overs.

Chasing 250, Tamim Iqbal, the local boy, raised Bangladesh's expectations with a brisk 35. His partner Junaid Siddique fell early to Mills, but Tamim and debutant Imrul Kayes built the innings patiently. Bangladesh had moved to 49 after 11.5 overs when the innings fell apart. Oram, who failed with the bat, struck in his first over, having Kayes caught behind for 12. Bangladesh lost Tamim on the same score when he nicked Jeetan Patel to McCullum. An ambitious shot from Ashraful led to his downfall, and a slog-sweep from Shakib Al Hasan reduced Bangladesh to 59 for 5.

Naeem, who's played a vital part with his offbreaks in his debut series, saw off more deliveries (106) than the top five combined and remained unbeaten on 46 to delay New Zealand's celebrations till the 50th over. The lower order gave him good support, but a professional New Zealand side ended Bangladesh's hopes of pulling off another upset win.

Ashraful eyes more success

Bangladesh skipper Mohammad Ashraful on Friday said his team are well on the way to becoming a competitive force after beating New Zealand for the first time in 12 One-Day Internationals.

Bangladesh upset the Black Caps here on Thursday to go 1-0 up in the three-match series against the side chasing the second spot in the One-Day rankings.

"I have said this before, if we do well in all three departments then we stand a good chance of being competitive. Thursday's performance was proof of that and it should pave the way for more wins," said Ashraful.

The captain hit an unbeaten 60 to guide the home team to a seven-wicket win, reaching their modest 202-run target with 4.3 overs to spare.

The sensational win was set up by paceman Mashrafe Mortaza (4-44) and left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak (3-32), who restricted New Zealand to their lowest One-Day total of 201-9 against Bangladesh.

Left-handed opener Zunaed Siddique then scored a brilliant 85 for his maiden half-century to establish a base for a comfortable run-chase.

Vettori and BcCullum thrash Bangladesh

The last day of the year was a memorable one for Daniel Vettori, who won another toss, grabbed five easy wickets to become New Zealand's highest limited-overs wicket-taker, and basked in his first series victory since taking over the captaincy after the World Cup.

Rain was expected but the weather held up in sunny Queenstown, New Zealand's "Vegas by the Lake", and Vettori played all his cards right to spin Bangladesh out for just 93, a total overhauled by Brendon McCullum's murderous 29-ball 80 before the local caterers burned lunch. Against the backdrop of the scenic Remarkables hill range, Bangladesh were simply annihilated, a 3-0 sweep was completed, and the hosts went into the New Year in a festive mood ahead of a busy season.

Before this game Mohammad Ashraful, Bangladesh's captain, demanded his side improve from an "unacceptable" performance in the second match, but it appeared no one was listening. Vettori's good luck at the toss continued and he had little hesitation in giving his bowlers a crack at a struggling Bangladeshi top order, whose penchant for driving on the up had them in knots. They got away with it in Napier, to an extent, but struggled in seam-friendly conditions where the ball didn't come onto the ball all that easily.

Kyle Mills' good series continued as he bowled Junaid Siddique in the third over, going for an expansive drive and inside-edging back onto his stumps. Mills and every seamer included bowled accurately and asked plenty of questions of the batsmen. Michael Mason, sporting a bit of hair dye in his first game since the World Cup, picked up an out-of-sorts Tamim Iqbal in his second over, the 16th. Struggling to time the ball off the square, Tamim saw some width and poked at it, but was smartly snapped at slip by Scott Styris, diving to his left. His laborious 13 from 56 deliveries summed up Bangladesh's predicament.

Source : http://content-ind.cricinfo.com