New Zealand seize the day

Bangladesh 165 for 6 (Ashraful 67, Saleh 41) v New Zealand
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

It was a day of mixed fortunes for Bangladesh at the Bangabandhu Stadium, but the end result was all too familiar. A bad start was followed by stirring defiance, but New Zealand were back on top as the day came to a close. Bangladesh reached 165 for 6 after making batting look both easy and unbearably hard, as they lost three early wickets, after which Mohammad Ashraful (67) and Rajin Saleh (41) put on a century partnership. After they departed, runs came sparingly against a New Zealand attack that gave very little away throughout the day.

The 115-run stand between Ashraful and Saleh came when Bangladesh were hobbling at 5 for 3. Jacob Oram removed Hannan Sarkar and Nafis Iqbal - both edged the ball - and James Franklin took care of Javed Omar. There was swing, the pitch had bounce, and Daniel Vettori made the ball turn uncomfortably. Weathering the conditions, both blocked and dodged and pulled away, and, barring the odd moment of indecision, did their best to survive. Just before lunch, Ashraful upped the ante as he swivelled to pull Ian Butler, New Zealand's fastest bowler, for a six. Two more came after lunch, and both were off Paul Wiseman.

Ashraful judged the length early while cutting and driving with assurance. Fielders were left ball-watching, their dives were often futile, and Ashraful and Saleh even shared laughs as the ball crossed the rope. Wiseman's bowling, in particular, was played like it was a lark. Pitched up? No problem, turn around the corner. Slightly short? No problem there, either as it was whacked out of park or cut hard. Saleh lofted Wiseman over long-on, and used the cut profitably besides driving down the ground. His outlook was not as aggressive as Ashraful's, though, who was on a different plane. Both had their luck, though: a cover-drive by Ashraful was dropped by Scott Styris, and Saleh was adjudged not out on a close run-out call.

New Zealand finally broke through with the score on 120, as Saleh edged a drive off Franklin to Oram at gully. Vettori struck shortly after, inducing a false shot from Ashraful, and then claimed Alok Kapali, who inner-edged an attempted sweep to the wicketkeeper (136 for 6). Vettori had bowled a flat line throughout the day, occasionally giving the ball air to extract bite from the pitch. It worked, and the batsmen were overly cautious when he bowled. Less than two runs an over were scored through the day. The cheers from spectators in the morning were gone and replaced by the odd clap when singles were taken.

At the close of play, Khaled Mashud and Manjural Islam Rana had added 28, and played out 129 balls. Their watchfulness bordered on paranoia, and for a while it looked like the only way they'd get a run was if the fielders fell asleep.