15 wickets tumble on Day 1, New Zealand tottering at 55/5

DHAKA: Mushfiqur Rahim’s brain-fade moment led to his obstructing-the-field dismissal but Bangladesh took charge of the second test against New Zealand after 15 wickets tumbled on a frenzied opening day of the contest on Wednesday.

Chasing a series-levelling victory, New Zealand appeared to nose ahead in the contest after bundling out Bangladesh for 172 at Mirpur’s Shere Bangla Stadium.

The tourists had to contend with a top-order meltdown of their own when they came out to bat and they were reeling at 55-5 when bad light stopped play with only 79 overs bowled in the day.

Daryl Mitchell (12) and Glenn Phillips (five) will resume New Zealand’s battle to stay in the contest when play resumes on Thursday.

Earlier opting to bat, Bangladesh slumped to 47-4 in 15 overs with New Zealand’s spin duo of Mitchell Santner (3-65) and Ajaj Patel (2-54) wrecking their top order.

Mushfiqur (35) and Shahadat Hossain (31) combined in a 57-run stand to steady the ship until the 41st over when New Zealand prised out a wicket in the unlikeliest of fashions.

Mushfiqur defended a Kyle Jamieson delivery and then instinctively extended his right hand to push the ball away even though there was no chance of it hitting the stumps.

The TV umpire upheld New Zealand’s appeal for what was previously known as handling-the-ball but was brought under obstructing-the-field dismissal in 2017.

Mushfiqur is the first Bangladesh batter to be given out obstructing the field, seven batsmen had previously been given out ‘handling the ball’ in test cricket.

Phillips wrecked Bangladesh’s lower order with figures of 3-31.

New Zealand’s top order could not master the spin-friendly conditions and looked ill at ease against Mehidy Hasan Miraz (3-17) and Taijul Islam (2-29).

Bangladesh won the opening test in Sylhet by 150 runs, their first on home soil against New Zealand.

BRIEF SCORES: Bangladesh 172 in 66.2 overs (Mitchell Santner 3/65, Glenn Phillips 3/31) vs New Zealand 55/5 in 12.4 overs (Mehidy Hasan 3/17); NZ trail by 117 runs.

Mushfiqur given out for obstructing the field

Former captain Mushfiqur Rahim on Wednesday became the first Bangladesh batter to be given out for ‘obstructing the field’ in a bizarre dismissal on the opening day of the second Test against New Zealand here.

The 36-year-old Rahim defended a rising delivery from New Zealand pacer Kyle Jamieson in the fourth ball of the 41st over and then extended his right hand to apparently keep the ball away after it bounced up wide outside off stump. The Black Caps were quick to appeal and the on-field umpires referred the matter to the TV umpire Ahsan Raza who gave Rahim out.

According to Law 37.1.2, “The striker is out obstructing the field if, except in the circumstances of 37.2, in the act of receiving a ball delivered by the bowler, he/she wilfully strikes the ball with a hand not holding the bat. This will apply whether it is the first strike or a second or subsequent strike. The act of receiving the ball shall extend both to playing at the ball and to striking the ball more than once in defence of his/her wicket.”