Taijul Islam’s left-arm orthodox style of bowling brought Bangladesh just three wickets shy of walking away with a remarkable victory against New Zealand at the end of Day 4 of the first Test on Friday.
New Zealand’s spinners spun the momentum in their favour Bangladesh early in the day but Taijul’s efforts with the ball left the Kiwis short of answers.
Ajaz Patel’s four-wicket haul made short work of the Tigers early on Day 4 of a gripping Test. In reply, Taijul showcased his prowess with the red ball in his hand cutting off the wings of Kwis before they could even think of spreading it to fly high in the air.
New Zealand restricted Bangladesh on a score of 338 and geared up to chase down a target of 332.
His precise deliveries fell on the length that he desired and the assistance from the pitch made it hard for the batters to read the variations hidden in his arsenal.
Tom Latham became his first victim of the day, Kane Williamson and middle-order batter Tom Blundell ended up following in the footsteps of the opening batter.
After completing his first four-wicket haul in the first innings, Taijul completed a four-fer in the second innings by scalping Kyle Jamieson’s wicket.
Out of all batters, Daryl Mitchell who is surrounded by controversy over applying saliva on the ball looked most assured. He backed his shots, took on the bowlers on every possible occasion and remained unbeaten at the end of the day with a score of 44(86).
Shoriful Islam, Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Nayeem Hasan scalped a wicket each to further inflict miseries on the Kiwis.
New Zealand ended the day with a score of 113/7 in 49 overs still in need of 219 runs for victory.
Brief Scores: Bangladesh 310 & 338 (Najmul Hossain Shanto 105, Mushfiqur Rahim 67; Ajaz Patel 4-148) vs New Zealand 317 & 113/7 (Daryl Mitchell 44*, Devon Conway 22; Taijul Islam 4-40).
