Dhaka – Top-quality centuries from Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim led the total towards 400 on the second day in Wellington. They set the Bangladesh record for the highest partnership against New Zealand, 231 at tea, which was the second-highest against any opposition away from home as well, but with the pitch settling down and a fast outfield to exploit, they shouldn’t feel sated just yet.The theme of play on Friday made it seem like the Basin Reserve was a farmer’s market. It was bathed in sunshine but the Northerly was nowhere to be found, clearly it didn’t like what they were selling today. The Williamson and Rahim families though just couldn’t get enough.“Time for runs,” said the sign posted over the pitch. “Fair enough,” said Bangladesh. They lost Mominul Haque, who couldn’t add anything to his overnight score of 64, but were hard-nosed enough to flourish for the rest of the day, weathering short-ball barrages and playing text-book shots. It was no coincidence that Shakib and Mushfiqur, the two most experienced players in the line-up, led the charge.”Patience for wickets? Lovely, darling patience for a pretty packet of wickets?” tempted the old gaffer who kept following Tim Southee, Trent Boult, Neil Wagner and Colin de Grandhomme. The New Zealand bowlers bought into the deal wholeheartedly. They targeted left-handers from around the wicket, placing the ball in the off stump corridor and one of them snatched Mominul’s edge in the third over of the day. It was the 44th instance that caught Watling bowled Southee featured on a scorecard, going past caught Smith bowled Hadlee.However, New Zealand didn’t quite keep their end of the bargain in the middle session, leaking 122 runs in 123 minutes. Mushfiqur had to deal with a spate of bouncers early in his innings, copping blows to his fingers while awkwardly fending the ball away. But he wouldn’t give in. This pain was nothing compared to what he would have to endure if Bangladesh had collapsed from a position of strength, again.Coming back from a hamstring injury, Mushfiqur relied on his guts to survive. It was clear he was fuelled by the desire to show that the team he leads can do well outside of their borders. He waited for the full deliveries to come and when they did, put them away gracefully. The lashes through cover, a push past mid-off, and a stunning on-drive for four were among his best shots as he went to tea at 112 not out, drawing out what looked like a coin from his pocket and raising it aloft with a bright smile upon reaching three-figures.Shakib, meanwhile, had far fewer moments of discomfort because he was able to pick the bouncer early. He was happy to leave an over that was packed with them from Wagner, who plays on batsmen’s egos to hustle them out. But the moment the short ball failed to rise high enough, he was onto it, pulling and cutting with no half measures. With 83 of his 126 coming behind the wicket, he went to the break having moved to second place among Bangladesh’s top-run getters in Test cricket. The celebrations for his second hundred overseas were rather muted, a simple raise of his bat.New Zealand would rue the catches that they couldn’t hold on to. Mushfiqur, on 28, flailed at a wide delivery from de Grandhomme, a very thick outside edge flew too quickly and Jeet Raval leaping up at second slip could only get his fingertips to it. While that was a very difficult chance, yesterday, Mitchell Santner dropped a straightforward one off Shakib when he was on 4.The second new ball presented the chance for wickets and Boult was particularly effective in making it swing. He squared Shakib up with a full delivery from wide of the crease and the angle made the batsman opt for a flick. A little swing away took the leading edge but there was no third slip to capitalise on it. In the same over, Boult, going around the wicket, used seam movement to trouble Mushfiqur, to the extent that an inside edge cannoned into leg stump but the bails, weighted in light of the winds usually prevalent in Wellington, did not move.UNB
