NZ vs BD, 2nd Test, Day 3, Lunch: Bangladesh 74/2 after NZ enforce follow-on
Bangladesh went into tea at 74 for two, still 321 runs behind.
After a rather dismal performance with the bat in their first innings, Bangladesh needed to redeem themselves and come up with a better approach. New Zealand skipper Tom Latham enforced the follow-on and the visitors were 395 runs behind when they started batting in their second innings.
It was a much more assured start from the Bangladesh openers - Shadman Islam and Mohammad Naim - as they looked to blunt the new ball without worrying much about scoring. Trent Boult and Tim Southee bowled decently on a surface that had browned up and looked a perfect one for batting.
The seam and extra bounce were always there but the openers got through the opening spell of Boult and Southee without losing a wicket. They left balls and focused on spending time in the middle. Shadman, in particular, got a few scoring opportunities and made good use of them.
But right before the drinks break of the morning session, he was out caught behind down the leg side in an unfortunate fashion. Tom Blundell, the keeper, pulled off a one-handed stunner and Kyle Jamieson accounted for the wicket. Shadman scored 21 off 48 balls and was looking good until the dismissal.
Najmul Hossain Shanto, who came in at three, was dropped on four by Daryl Mitchell at third slip off Jamieson.
Neil Wagner bowled a barrage of short balls in the final half an hour of the first session but Shanto took him on in the 23rd over by hitting a six and a four in successive deliveries. The southpaw once again went after Wagner in his next over, hitting back-to-back boundaries off pull shots. But Wagner had the last laugh as Shanto opted for a suicidal pull shot and this time it went straight to Boult at fine leg just minutes before lunch.
But Naim showed great resilience and grit to consume balls before the break without showing signs of getting out. He consumed 81 balls for his unbeaten 15 before the lunch break and Bangladesh went into tea at 74 for two, still 321 runs behind.