Riding on Corey Anderson’s maiden century, New Zealand finished day three of the second Test against Bangladesh at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium yesterday at 419/8, 137 runs ahead of the host team.
It was New Zealand’s day as four players struck fifties to go along with Anderson’s heroics, while for Bangladesh, all-rounder Shakib al Hasan claimed five wickets
Play started 20 minutes late due to a wet outfield, but the crowd would have been happy that the day went ahead without rain interruptions – and the match referee added half an hour to the last session to make up for the lost time.
Resuming on 107/3, New Zealand lost Ross Taylor for 53 when he edged Shakib to Nasir Hossain at slip in the sixth over of the day. This brought Anderson to the crease and along with Kane Williamson, he turned the match definitively in the Kiwis favour. In the course of a 140 run partnership, the pair dominated the Bangladesh bowlers while batting sensibly. Williamson was particularly adept at handling the spinners and got down low to make sure he kept the ball on the ground and while the scoreboard was kept moving with singles, the batsmen were not slow to punish anything wide for a boundary. The partnership was eventually broken by left arm spinner Abdur Razzak, who removed Williamson for a well crafted 62.
The 22-year old Anderson however powered on and reached his maiden Test hundred. Facing 173 balls, Anderson scored 116 with 14 fours and two sixes before becoming debutant Al-Amin’s first Test wicket.
The wicket seemed to lift the Bangladesh bowlers and Shakib claimed his 10th five-wicket haul when Doug Bracewell nicked a tossed up delivery outside the off stump to Mushfiqur Rahim behind the stumps just before tea.
Soon after the break, Neil Wager fell for 8 to Nasir Hossain, but BJ Watling and Ish Sodhi stood firm for the rest of the day. Both men crossed 50 – Watling finished 59 not out and Sodhi 53 not out – as they shared an unbroken stand of 84 for the ninth wicket, which kept the Kiwis with their noses in front as the match heads into the fourth day today.
