Tom Latham blended vast reservoirs of concentration and well-timed shots to compose his sixth Test hundred (119 not out) to haul New Zealand out of a tricky situation. The hosts ended Day 3 of the first Test in Wellington on Saturday (January 14) at 292 for 3, still 303 runs behind Bangladesh’s first innings total.
The home side resumed the final session at 186 for 2. Kamrul Islam Rabbi picked up his second wicket of the innings by dismissing Ross Taylor for 40. The veteran batsman attempted to pull a shortish delivery, but couldn’t get on top of the ball and hit it straight to the fielder positioned at deep square leg. Taylor flared briefly, but he also had a few nervy moments on the way before he was dismissed. He was even warned twice by the umpires for running on the wicket.
Despite losing Taylor after the Tea break, Latham continued to thread the gaps in the field with precision to rotate the strike. Henry Nicholls (35 not out), who joined Latham in the middle, was the more aggressive of the two. The middle-order batsman gauged the conditions quickly and checked in shots off both spinners and the pacemen.
Nicholls, however, escaped a close shout for LBW off Mehedi Hasan. The initial decision was not out and Bangladesh took the review. Fortunately for Nicholls, the impact turned out to be umpire’s call and he survived.
Latham then upped the tempo as he ushered in a couple of boundaries off Taskin Ahmed in the 98th over to near the three-figure mark. He reached the landmark by clipping Taskin around the corner to add three more runs to his tally. Latham was a picture of calmness at the crease on Day 3.
With two overs to go for close of play, umpires decided the light wasn’t good enough to continue and stumps were drawn. For Bangladesh, Taskin and Kamrul Islam had their moments with the ball. The duo, however, struggled to bowl with discipline for long periods of time. The spin twins Mehedi and Shakib extracted some turn from the surface, but they too weren’t able to maintain the pressure on the opposition ranks.
New Zealand’s batsmen also showed the required pluck and determination to navigate through the first two sessions of the day. In the post-Lunch session, Williamson and Latham unfurled a volley of strokes to lay the platform for New Zealand to whittle away at the visitors’ massive first innings total. Williamson, in particular, explored every nook and cranny of the ground and looked in pristine form.
In the 21st over of the innings, the New Zealand captain displayed his full repertoire of shots as he punched, flicked and late cut Kamrul Islam to the boundary hoardings. Latham, his partner at the other end, also kept the scoreboard moving and composed a well-measured fifty. Williamson soon reached his 25th Test fifty by nurdling Taskin around the corner. However, Williamson fell to Taskin the very next ball by edging one behind the stumps.
At the start of the day, Bangladesh batted for an hour before declaring their innings. Neil Wagner picked up his fourth scalp of the innings when he dislodged Taskin, with Tim Southee grabbing the catch in the slip cordon. Sabbir Rahman then rode his luck and composed an unbeaten 86-ball 54. Bangladesh, however, added just 53 runs in 16 overs. It was strange tactics by the think-tank as the visitors need ample time to take 20 wickets on a track that isn’t providing much assistance for the pace bowlers.
Once the tourists declared their innings just five short of 600, Jeet Raval and Latham chipped away at the lead. It was only at the stroke of Lunch when Kamrul Islam bowled a fine delivery to produce the edge with Imrul Kayes taking the catch behind the stumps. The southpaw opener was dropped on 26 by Shakib at third slip off Taskin, but he couldn’t make the opposition pay for it. Mushfiqur Rahim, Bangladesh’s Test captain, was off the field with a thumb injury. Hence, Tamim Iqbal took over the duties of leading the side with Kayes donning the wicketkeeping gloves.
Bangladesh need to make further inroads in the first session of Day 4 to have a realistic chance of overcoming New Zealand in their own den. On the other hand, the hosts would fancy their chances of playing out for a draw on a flat deck.
Brief scores
Bangladesh 595/8 decl. (Shakib Al Hasan 217, Mushfiqur Rahim 159; Neil Wagner 4-151)
New Zealand 292/3 (Tom Latham 119*, Kane Williamson 53; Kamrul Islam Rabbi 2-53)
 to haul New Zealand out of a tricky situation. The hosts ended Day 3 of the first Test in Wellington on Saturday (January 14) at 292 for 3, still 303 runs behind Bangladesh's first innings total.){kind=link}