A gruesome morning for Bangladesh was highlighted by Mushfiqur Rahim being taken off the field in an ambulance after being struck on the helmet by a bouncer from Tim Southee. The fact that he was batting in the first place, having injured his hand, was a sign of how desperate the situation was for the visitors. They were eventually bowled out for 160 seven overs after lunch and New Zealand were set 217 to win in 57 overs.Should Kane Williamson and his men pull it off a record that has stood for 122 years would be broken. In December 1894, Australia put up 586 in the first innings and lost to England in a timeless Test. Bangladesh were courting similar ignominy having put up 595 for 8 declared when they batted first in a match where nearly 50 overs were lost to rain in the first day. At tea, New Zealand were 91 for 2, needing another 126 runs in 38 overs. That translated to a required rate of 3.31.It took several outrageous incidents to bring us to this stage. Four wickets in seven overs between the 13th and 20th, and a freak injury to Kayes, who was asked to open the batting yesterday after keeping wicket for nearly 150 overs. That would have been difficult for a specialist let alone a stand-in. He had retired hurt, but came out to bat again adding 12 runs to his 24.Shakib was the first to go, swinging wildly at the eighth ball of a day, from Mitchell Santner, when their concentration should have been on survival and popped a catch to mid-on. Mominul did not see a fuller delivery from Neil Wagner, his feet were pinned to the crease, hinting he was expecting a bouncer, and was caught in the slips.Then the horrible end to Mushfiqur’s innings at a time when he seemed to be dealing with the short ball quite well. It took one of them keeping low to eventually consume him.There would be outcry over how often New Zealand targeted the fingers on Mushfiqur’s bottom hand – which might well be broken – but he would have known what he was in for when he decided to bat with a target on him. It isn’t in the nature of an international team to shy away from exploiting a weakness. Especially with a come-from-behind Test win on offer. Mushfiqur faced up to the challenge superbly. His bravery would not soon be forgotten. It must be celebrated even if Bangladesh couldn’t away with a favourable result.With Sabbir in the middle, the fans had hope. A naturally aggressive batsman, he spent 51 minutes without scoring – during which he could have been caught and bowled – and batted sensibly with the tail until lunch. After the break though, perhaps worried by Rabbi and Subashis Roy’s batting abilities, he began taking a lot more risks and was caught behind for 50 while attempting an on the up square drive. Bangladesh lost their last four wickets for 23 runs as Trent Boult picked up 3 for 53, bowling Roy and Taskin Ahmed with reverse swing.Mehedi Hasan, given the new ball again, dismissed Jeet Raval and Tom Latham before tea, beating the first man with flight to earn himself a return catch and the second with turn as a half-hearted defensive shot led to an inside edge onto the stumps. Williamson, on 33 off 32 and Taylor, on 17 off 21, got New Zealand through to tea with an unbeaten partnership of 52 off 46 balls. But with variable bounce finally setting in, Bangladesh weren’t quite out of the contest yet. espn
