BAN vs NZ 1st Test: Taijul Islam shines for hosts as Bangladesh stun New Zealand by 150 runs to go 1-0 up

Bangladesh made a brilliant start to their post-ODI World Cup hangover as they won the first Test match against New Zealand in Sylhet on Saturday (Dec 2). The win was highlighted by the exceptional bowling of Taijul Islam who ended with 75/6 in the second innings as the Kiwis were beaten by 150 runs. This is the second time Bangladesh have stunned New Zealand, having also beaten them in 2022 in a Test match. The win now sees the hosts take a 1-0 lead, meaning a draw in the second Test will see them, register a historic Test series win against the 2021 World Test Championship (WTC) winners.

Taijul shines in win

Starting the day at 113/7, New Zealand were already on the back foot and needed a miracle to escape the defeat. Daryl Mitchell (58) was the only hope for the Kiwis but with the loss of his wicket on the fourth ball of the 59th over, it was a matter of time before Bangladesh scampered to a win. Tim Southee (34) and Ish Sodhi (22) showed some resilience before they were sent packing back to the pavilion. Taijul played a part in all three dismissals having caught Mitchell while scalping Southee and Sodhi to lead Bangladesh to the famous win.

What happened in the match?

Earlier, New Zealand took a slight seven-run first innings lead having posted 317 on the board in response to Bangladesh’s 310. Captain Kane Williamson scored 104 while Taijul scalped four wickets to be the star of the show. In their second innings, riding on Najmul Hossain Shanto’s ton Bangladesh scored 338 and set a target of 332 runs to win for New Zealand. They were eventually bowled out for 181 with Mitchell top scoring with 58.

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The win sees Bangladesh start their 2023-25 WTC campaign on a high while New Zealand will look to bounce back from the disappointment. The two teams will next meet on Wednesday (Dec 6) in the second Test with them colliding at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka. This will also see the conclusion of the Bangladesh tour for New Zealand, which was spanned on either side of the ODI World Cup in India.