Taijul Islam picked up his second 10-wicket haul in Tests to take Bangladesh to a historic 150-run win over New Zealand on the final day of their first Test in Sylhet on Saturday. This is Bangladesh’s second-ever win over New Zealand and the first at home against them.
Taijul, who had claimed four wickets in the first innings, hit the final nail on New Zealand’s coffin on the day, by getting Ish Sodhi (22) caught at silly point to bowl out the visitors for 181. Taijul took two of the three remaining wickets on the day while Nayeem Hasan claimed the other.
Earlier, Bangladesh conceded a seven-run lead in the first innings. Stand-in skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto’s century and a couple of fifties from Mushfiqur Rahim and Mehedi Hasan Miraz helped the Tigers set a daunting 332-run target. Bangladesh had New Zealand on the ropes by the end of the fourth day when they reduced them to 113-7.It took the hosts less than 90 minutes in the morning session to complete the victory.
The rejuvenated Bangladesh Test team under the leadership of Najmul Hossain Shanto, who, having led Bangladesh in the World Cup in Shakib’s absence, made a spectacular debut as Test captain by scoring a century—the first for a Bangladeshi in debut as captain. This century laid the foundation for the Tigers to set a challenging target for New Zealand.
Bangladesh also took a 1-0 lead in the two-Test series with the win. The next Test will be played in Dhaka, starting on December 6.