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.

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