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Tigers fall into Kiwi trap

BISHWAJIT ROY
As required, Bangladesh received a notable contribution from one of their stalwarts - Tamim Iqbal - who hit 95 on the first day of the second and final Test against New Zealand at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur yesterday. Even so it cannot be said that the day, which ended at the tea interval because of continuous rainfall, belonged to the Tigers. The rain interruption may have frustrated the sizeable Mirpur audience but in reality it came as a blessing in disguise for the home team because it not only stopped the batting rot but most importantly saved some time.
Scoring 228 runs at over four runs per over definitely is on the surface an impressive feat, but the real problem was the way in which four of the five wickets were surrendered. It is not only scoring at a good pace, but also consuming time that is of vital importance for the Tigers. In that respect, the Bangladesh top order failed to apply themselves on a pitch where New Zealand's four-man pace attack extracted the bounce to trap the batsmen with short deliveries.
Tamim was certainly the most frustrated man in the end as the left-hander missed the chance to end his long century drought by just five runs, but he can only blame himself. Tamim initially survived two dropped chances but he failed to make the most of his luck as the problem, from the very beginning, was with his mindset. He executed some brilliant shots but he was also restless in his shot selection, for which he eventually paid the price. The New Zealand skipper placed a fielder at gully immediately after the left-hander glided a boundary through the region and painfully, the experienced Tamim was entrapped by Brendon McCullum's ploy as he seemed to be giving catching practice to Kane Williamson.
Tamim's dismissal was however not the only instance of a lack of nuance among
Bangladesh's batsmen. One has to ask why Shakib Al Hasan went for that sweep shot just before the tea interval? The situation could have been much better if the lefthander accompanied his captain Mushfiqur Rahim to the close of play, especially as he was set with 20 runs from his one-hour stay. There is no reason yet to expect much from young opener Anamul Haque, who has so far been suspect in his efforts to establish himself at the highest level and yesterday's poor dismissal only added to the impression. However, the dismissals of Tamim, first-Test hero Mominul Haque and Shakib simply gave the impression that the top batsmen paid for a wrong approach and thus spoiled the opportunity of being in the driving seat at the end of the day.
After the early loss of Anamul, Marshall Ayub joined Tamim to display some eyecatching cover drives but the right-hander missed the line against Neil Wagner to put an end to his impressive but insubstantial 41, but still the home team went for a good lunch at 111 fortwo.
Mominul, who hit a well-composed 181 in the first Test, got some runs but he was also restless in his shot selection and his slash to a short and wide delivery to offer a simple catch for wicketkeeper BJ Watling was frustrating. In the end, losing three wickets in the second session may have a telling impact on the final result.
Neil Wagner, drafted in to replace Bruce Martin, took two wickets and generally looked threatening. He complemented Trent Boult well and made sure that ten expensive overs from Doug Bracewell, who was most unfortunate to not have Tamim's wicket twice, did not hurt them too much. It is to New Zealand's credit that they read the pitch well, although the overcast conditions did not yield much swing, and exploited the Tigers' discomfort against short bowling, and that they got the most out of their new inclusion. But in the end it was the story of the Bangladesh batsmen's inability to read the situation.