Bangladesh hammered New Zealand with a double century by Shakib Al Hasan in a record-breaking second day of the first Test in Wellington yesterday. But they kept declaration plans after reaching 542-7 on day two, and New Zealand insisted they were still in the game.
Shakib scored a Bangladesh innings record of 217 and captain Mushfiqur Rahim added 159 in a 359-run stand, which set a record for any Bangladesh partnership. Mushfiqur described the tourists’ position as “really satisfying”.
“Let’s see,” was his message to New Zealand when questioned whether a declaration was likely overnight. “That’s one job done but there’s still three days to go. Anything’s possible,” he said, adding Bangladesh were determined to erase their nightmare build-up to the Test when they lost all six one-day and Twenty20 matches.
Shakib called his seven hours at the crease “one of the proudest days” of his career as he moved up to second on the list of prolific Bangladesh batsmen with 3,146 to his name behind Tamim Iqbal’s 3,405.
He said he did not realise he had broken Tamim’s record for the highest Test innings by a Bangladesh player until he reached 207 and saw the opener stand and applaud in the stands. “I thought his score was 214 but when I ran that single and saw Tamim was clapping I thought OK — the highest.”
Shakib and Mushfiqur both fell in the final session after setting Bangladesh up for their 542, which is the third-highest first innings at the traditional bowl-first Basin Reserve in its 59-Test history.
Shakib Al Hasan
