Left-arm spinner Taijul Islam wreaked havoc on New Zealand's batting line-up, claiming 4/40 as Bangladesh tightened their grip on the series-opening Test on Friday. Needing 332 to win, New Zealand found themselves in a precarious position at 113/7 at stumps on Day 4.
Daryl Mitchell, with an unbeaten 44, and Ish Sodhi, with seven runs, were the only batters to show some resistance. Opener Devon Conway was the only other notable contributor with 22 runs. Pacer Shoriful Islam extended Tom Latham's slump in form, dismissing him for a six-ball duck in the opening over. Kane Williamson, despite his century in the first innings, struggled on the deteriorating pitch. After hitting a couple of boundaries off Mehidy Hasan, Williamson fell lbw to Taijul for 11. His review was unsuccessful.
Henry Nicholls was the next to depart, spooning a slog-sweep off Mehidy to Nayeem Hasan at short fine leg for two runus.
Conway, despite the falling wickets around him, played with positive intent, sweeping the spinners effectively to keep the scoreboard ticking. However, Taijul eventually had him caught by Shahadat Hossain at short leg.
With New Zealand reeling at 46/4, the responsibility rested on Mitchell's shoulders, but he found little support from the other end.
Wicketkeeper-batsman Tom Blundell (6) struggled against Taijul before edging a turning delivery behind, and Nayeem Hasan further hampered the visitors' progress with a successful review to remove Glenn Phillips.
Bangladesh inched closer to victory in the series-opening Test against New Zealand on day four, with Taijul Islam's dismissal of Kyle Jamieson for 7 leaving the visitors in a precarious position.
However, Daryl Mitchell and Ish Sodhi managed to survive a tricky 30-minute period before bad light forced stumps to be drawn.
Earlier in the day, Bangladesh was bowled out for 338 in their second innings. Najmul Hossain Shanto failed to add to his overnight score and was dismissed for 105, triggering a collapse in the Bangladeshi batting lineup.
Mehidy Hasan's unbeaten 50 helped the hosts extend their lead beyond 300.
Resuming Day 4 at 212/3, Bangladesh lost Shanto early in the second over when Tim Southee caught him down the leg side, ending a 98-run fourth-wicket partnership.
Mushfiqur Rahim carried on and reached his 27th Test half-century off 79 balls, with an outside-edge two against Southee. However, he failed to convert it into a century when left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel trapped him lbw for 67. Leg-spinner Ish Sodhi dismissed Shahadat Hossain (18) to expose Bangladesh's lower order, which failed to provide adequate support to Mehidy Bangladesh lost their last three wickets for 27 runs but managed to set a challenging target for New Zealand to chase. The hosts were dismissed for 310 in their first innings, conceding a seven-run lead after New Zealand's 317 all out.
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