December 2nd 2023.
Bangladesh’s victory over New Zealand in the first Test of the series in Sylhet has stunned the former World Test Champions. On the fifth and final day of the game, Bangladesh needed only three wickets and left-arm spinner Taijul Islam took two of them to give his side a 150-run victory and only their second Test win against the Kiwis.
The home side’s strong batting performance began with Mahmudul Hasan Joy’s 86, followed by important contributions from Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mominul Haque, which resulted in a first-innings total of 310.
Kane Williamson put up a valiant effort and became the first New Zealand player to score a century in four consecutive Tests, equalling Don Bradman’s tally. He scored his 29th Test century and shared three half-century partnerships with Henry Nicholls, Daryl Mitchell and Glenn Phillips to take the tourists to 317.
Taijul Islam finished with 4 wickets, while part-time spinner Mominul Haque took outstanding figures of 3.5-1-4-3. In Bangladesh’s second innings, Najmul Hossain Shanto scored a gritty hundred and got great support from Haque and Mushfiqur Rahim. Shanto added 90 with Haque and 98 with Rahim, and Mehidy Hasan Miraz followed with a crucial half-century.
When the Kiwis came out in pursuit of 332, the pitch spun more and they keep losing wickets, eventually ending up at 113-7 by stumps on day 4. Daryl Mitchell had put up a good fight, but Miraz broke his resistance 6 overs after he reached his half-century.
In the end, it was Taijul who completed the inevitable, taking 10 wickets in the match and becoming the last man to be dismissed. This historic win for Bangladesh earned the team 12 crucial points in the WTC 2023-25 points table, and it is also their 2nd Test win over New Zealand, the first coming at Mount Maunganui in 2022.
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