New Zealand 280 for 5 (Williamson 114, Fulton 73) v Bangladesh
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Kane Williamson and Peter Fulton
were looking quite comfortable, until the Bangladesh spinners found
their mojo in the final hour. New Zealand went to stumps on 280 for 5,
having lost their last three wickets in 10.1 overs in the first Test in
Chittagong.
After controlled batting had kept all three spinners out of the game on a
newly-laid pitch, the fourth and the fifth wickets came in the last two
overs, when Williamson, having made 114, and captain Brendon McCullum
were adjudged leg-before to Shakib Al Hasan and Abdur Razzak
respectively.
The visitors' progress throughout the day was a fair reflection of the
conditions. There was no pace in the wicket even at its freshest, and it
didn't change much throughout the day. But the two batsmen, as well as
Hamish Rutherford and later Ross Taylor, made friends with the
straw-coloured surface quicker than the bowlers would have hoped.
Bangladesh included Abdur Razzak for his first Test match in more than
two years in hopes of fielding a more rounded attack and just after the
first hour, all three spinners had been brought in. But the wickets did
not materialise.
The swiftness with which the New Zealand top four acclimatised must have
been encouraging for the next batsmen. Williamson was the most
impressive, adjusting quickly as if he suddenly remembered how he had
scored his first ODI hundred in Dhaka. Even then, his timing was noticeable.
Today he was as tight in defence as he was forceful when the ball was
off line. Coming at the back of a first wicket which was needlessly
given away by Rutherford, Williamson avoided rash strokeplay. A backfoot
dab through mid-on off the first ball he faced, from Shakib Al Hasan,
was perhaps the most elegant shot of the day, but the best one of his 12
boundaries came four balls later - another light punch off the back
foot to turn the ball past mid-wicket. The two shots set him up for the
rest of the innings, as the Bangladesh spinners struggled to push the
ball through, or use the slow nature of the wicket to their benefit.
Williamson's next seven boundaries were all examples of how a batsman's
patience is more often than not rewarded. A majority of them were off
short balls, as the bowlers lost their discipline, and soon he reached
his half-century off 94 balls.
Fulton struggled early on when he repeatedly tried to work the ball in
front of the leg side. But after surviving some close calls, he too
reached his first fifty since his twin centuries
against England in Auckland. His 73 came off 198 balls, with seven
fours and a six as he became increasingly comfortable knocking the
spinners around, finding the gaps and bringing out the sweep shot once
in a while. It was a slow innings, but one that laid the foundation for
New Zealand's dominance on the day.
Their 126-run stand - New Zealand's highest for the second wicket in
Bangladesh - wasn't exactly unexpected because the hosts are used to
being on the backfoot when bowling first. But given their attack, it was
expected that the pair would be forced into a mistake, which eventually
came off Nasir Hossain's part-time off spin. Fulton had a century in
his sights when he smashed a half-tracker straight to cover and walked
off the field looking very distraught.
Williamson reached his century off 175 balls, a confident knock that was
pleasing to the eyes, particularly when he punched the ball off either
foot. But it was his strong-willed defence that contributed to his
innings the most.
Along with Ross Taylor, he added 61 runs for the third wicket, which
ended when Taylor's flick found a leading edge and fell safely into
cover's hands while Rutherford, the day's first wicket, was another
batsman being defeated by his own impetuousness.
Williamson was dismissed for 114, having batted more than four hours.
His forward prod at Shakib missed the bat, and he was given out
leg-before in the penultimate over of the day. McCullum fell in the
final over, having played back while trying to flick a ball off Razzak,
who was bowling quicker than he had done all day.
Despite the five wickets, the day's play promises much for New Zealand
looking ahead in the series. They started off quite well on a new
surface, which might not impress their pace bowlers much. The plan from
the home side would be to diminish the pace and movement of Trent Boult
and Doug Bracewell, and hope the wicket gets better as the match
progresses.
Mohammad Isam is ESPNcricinfo's Bangladesh correspondent. He tweets here
Feeds: Mohammad Isam
© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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