Image Credit- AFP
With three wickets remaining and a whole day remaining
in the Sylhet Test, Taijul Islam guided the Bangladesh spinners to the point
where they were almost certain to overcome New Zealand. At the end of the day,
New Zealand was 113 for 7, requiring 219 more runs to win against 332 against
an undefeated Daryl Mitchell batting at the bottom of the order. The bowlers’
accuracy near and on the off stump was what really hampered New Zealand’s
batsmen. Taijul claimed four wickets, while Nayeem Hasan and Mehidy Hasan Miraz
each claimed one.
In Shakib Al Hasan’s absence, Taijul took on the role
of enforcer, dismissing Kane Williamson twice during the match and claiming the
wickets of Devon Conway, Tom Blundell, and Kyle Jamieson in the second innings.
As the ideal counterbalance, Mehidy and Nayeem attacked the right-hand batsmen
at the stumps, frequently employing fast turns to force tight catches and
leg-before-wrap calls. However, Shoriful Islam, Bangladesh’s lone fast bowler,
was the one who delivered the early prize.
Tom Latham was barely edging Shoriful’s pitched-up
delivery when Nurul Hasan dove low to his left, taking out the opener for a
duck. Williamson was likely to be crucial to New Zealand’s strategy on the
fourth day of the match after reaching his 29th Test century in the opening
innings.
Taijul caused further misery for New Zealand when
Shahadat Hossain finished a straightforward catch after Devon Conway poked him
to short leg. When he played one towards the leg side and the ball took his
outside edge, Tom Blundell appeared to be in trouble right away and didn’t
endure for very long either. This time, Nurul Hasan made the difficult catch
because the batter had also rotated his body to face midwicket.
When Glenn Philips was trapped LBW for 12 by Nayeem in
the 35th over, the collapse proceeded. Bangladesh secured the wicket through a
review after the right-handed batter batted back to a delivery that curved
sharply back to his front leg. When Taijul trapped Kyle Jamieson, he became the
third victim of LBW.