At the end of the first day of the first test match at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium on Tuesday, Bangladesh struggled with the batting line-up and collected 310 runs, loosing nine wickets whereas four wickets picked by part-time Blackcaps` off-spinner Glenn Phillips.
Taking the ball in hand, Phillips demonstrated his skill by taking crucial wickets of Mominul Haque, Najmul Hossain Shanto, debutant Shahadat Hossain, and wicketkeeper-batter Nurul Hasan.
Phillips is known for breaking partnerships in the white-ball format. Several batters reached their 20s and 30s but were unable to sustain their scoring while Mahmudul Hasan Joy, the opener, scored highest so far with 86 runs.
Phillips was the most effective of the two specialist spinners, Azaz Patel and Ish Sodhi, sharing three wickets in 16 overs despite the pitch helping the spinners to turn the ball.
First day has been concluded after 85 overs due to bad light, with Taijul Islam (8) and Shoriful Islam (13) at the crease.
After facing 54 deliveries, rookie Shahadat Hossain was outwitted by a delivery from part-time spinner Glenn Phillips.
After reaching the ball and attempting to work it on the leg-side, the right-handed middle-order batsman scored 24 runs before making an easy catch at short midwicket.
Following the dismissal, Bangladesh was stuck to 261 for seven, having Nurul Hasan as the lone remaining recognized batsman.
Bangladesh see themselves in a precarious position as the tigers lost crucial wickets of Mushfiqur Rahim and Mehedi Hasan Miraz after resumption following the tea break.
At the last session of the day, Mushfiqur was the first to fall when Mr. Dependable threw his wicket away by charging seasoned player Ajaz Patel.
Though Mushfiqur was unable to clear the field, Kane Williamson was there with a relatively simple catch at deep mid-off.
Before Shahadat, who was making his debut, got confused while playing a Kyle Jamieson delivery, Miraz and the debutant Shahadat began to start a partnership. The first slip made an easy catch after Miraz attempted a pull shot and gained a top edge.
What appeared to be a first-innings score of more than 450 for Bangladesh now appears to be far below what would have been considered average.
