Bangladesh recovers to 80 for 4 at the first interval in the 2nd cricket test against New Zealand

Dec 6, 2023

Left-arm spinners Mitchell Santner and Ajaz Patel have taken two wickets each as New Zealand reduced Bangladesh to 80 for four at lunch on opening day of the second cricket test

MIRPUR, Bangladesh (AP) — Left-arm spinners Mitchell Santner and Ajaz Patel took two wickets each as New Zealand reduced Bangladesh to 80-4 at lunch Wednesday on opening day of the second cricket test.

Santner, who replaced leg-spinner Ish Sodhi, returned figures of 2-24 and Patel claimed 2-32 to rip through the top order after Bangladesh won the toss and elected to bat in pursuit of a first ever test series win over New Zealand.

The New Zealand bowling attack maintained a tight line and length to create pressure by conceding just eight runs in the first seven overs.

Bangladesh’s first boundary came in the eighth over when Zakir Hasan drove Patel through cover for four.

The pressure eventually got the better of Zakir (8) when he played a rash shot against Santner and chipped it straight to mid-on.

In the next over, Patel dismissed Mahmudul Hasan (14) after he was beaten by the drift to give a catch at short-leg.

Mominul Haque (5) was the next to go when he was caught behind off Patel's bowling.

But the biggest blow for Bangladesh followed in the next over when captain Najmul Hossain Shanto (9), who hit a century in the previous test, attempted a reverse sweep against Santner.

The on-field Umpires turned down the appeal but New Zealand reviewed it successfully to leave Bangladesh 47-4.

Mushfiqur Rahim (18) and Shahadat Hossain (14) combined to see off the remainder of the session without further trouble.

Bangladesh leads the two-match series after winning the opener by 150 runs and retained the same starting lineup for the second test.

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AP cricket:

https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

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