Day 2 in Mount Maunganui charms in Tigers' "Joy"

It was Bangladesh's day for all money at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui as they got off to a decent start followed by a tremendous bowling performance in the morning session. At tea on day two, the tourists were 70 for one, trailing by 258 runs.

Bangladesh picked up the five remaining wickets of New Zealand in the first session of day two of the first Test match. An impressive bowling display from the visiting side saw the Black Caps getting all-out for 328, well below the average first innings score on this ground. 

Shoriful Islam, the pick of the Bangladesh bowlers, got the first breakthrough of the day. Rachin Ravindra was set up well by the left-arm seamer. Shoriful bowled a few outside off which Ravindra left well but a straighter and fuller delivery saw him nicking the ball to Shadman Islam at slips. Ravindra made four.

Henry Nicholls, unbeaten overnight on 32, started from where he left off on day one. The Bangladeshi bowlers went short to him as teams often do against Nicholls but the southpaw negotiated them well. He played the pull shot to good effect and also cut two Ebadot Hossain short balls for boundaries. 

Mehidy Hasan Miraz was brought into the attack at the end of the first hour and he immediately made an impact by creating two opportunities, only to be grassed by Mahmudul Hasan Joy. But those misses didn't prove costly as Jamieson holed out to long-on in Miraz's next over. 

Four overs later, Miraz took two in two as he removed Tim Southee and Neil Wagner in consecutive deliveries. Wagner was initially not given out on the field but adjudged caught behind by the TV umpire as Bangladesh took a review. 

Miraz could've had his fourth if Trent Boult had not been dropped by Shadman who made good ground running from long-on but could not latch on to the ball. But it did not cost Bangladesh too many runs as Nicholls attempted a reverse-sweep off Mominul Haque and picked out Shadman at short third man. The southpaw continued his good run of form at home by scoring a well-made 75. New Zealand added 70 to their overnight total and in the process lost five wickets before getting all-out. 

For the tourists, Shoriful and Miraz got three wickets each. Mominul, with his slow left-arm orthodox spin, chipped in with two wickets. 

Bangladesh had to bat around ten minutes before the teams headed into lunch. Joy and Shadman played out three overs safely and ended the session at five for no loss after three overs.

In the post-lunch session, New Zealand opening bowlers - Boult and Southee - were not as on the money as they would have liked. They did not hit the stumps frequently, bowled too short and down the leg side at times. Bangladesh openers took advantage and did not let scoring opportunities slide.

Southee later on got the rhythm back and tested the batters especially Joy but the right-hander hung on and saw off the first hour without any damage. 

But Neil Wagner, on his return to international cricket after a while, took a brilliant return catch to see the back of Shadman who looked assured in the middle. The breakthrough came right after the drinks break. Shadman faced 55 balls for his 22 and added a patient 43 with Joy in 18.1 overs.

Joy and Najmul Hossain Shanto - Bangladesh's number three - remained solid for the most part until tea. Shanto survived a couple of close shouts early on off Wagner. Wagner could have had Joy but New Zealand did not opt for a review although TV replays showed a plumb leg-before. 

But the duo negotiated the pacers of New Zealand and the left-arm orthodox spin of Ravindra safely and went into lunch at 70 for one. Joy was unbeaten on 32 and Shanto on 12.

Mahmudul Hasan Joy got a life on 20 and he took full advantage of it. The right-handed U-19 World Cup winning opener, playing just his second Test, notched up his maiden Test fifty and remained unbeaten till stumps showing resistance with his good defensive technique against a fiery pace attack. Nazmul Hossain Shanto, at three, gave him good company by registering his second half-century and the duo stitched a hundred partnership for the second wicket.

Although Shanto got out by a mind-game bowling of Wagner where he bowled a full outside of off stump delivery after a succession of bouncers, Joy is still going strong with captain Mominul Haque.

At the end of day 2's play, Joy remains unbeaten on 70 runs and becomes the first Bangladeshi opening batter to face 200 deliveries in an innings in New Zealand. Opener Joy faced 211 deliveries and in a total of 37 attempts before today, only opener Junaid Siddique batted for 144 deliveries and opener Tamim Iqbal for 128 twice.

At the End of Day Two

New Zealand: 328-10 (108.1 ov)

Conway 122 (227) || Nicholls 75 (127)

Shoriful 3-69 (26 ov) || Mehidy 3-86 (32 ov) || Mominul 2-6 (4.1 ov) || Ebadot 1-75 (18 ov)

Bangladesh: 175-2 (67 ov)

Joy 70* (211) || Shanto 64 (109) || Shadman 22 (55) || Mominul 8* (27)

Wagner 2-27 (16 ov)