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It was a contrast from a gripping fourth day, as the last passage of play in the second Test between Bangladesh and New Zealand proved to be the least exciting of all. Predictably, the match drifted to a draw, though New Zealand earned themselves a deserved 1-0 series-win.

New Zealand lost Jamie How before lunch for 8, but his was the only wicket to fall as Jesse Ryder (39) and Aaron Redmond (30) guided their team to a predictable, if rather dull, draw. It was the first time Bangladesh have managed to avoid defeat in eight Tests against New Zealand.

However, when play began this morning, New Zealand were in a commanding position. Bangladesh, who resumed on the perilous position of 13 for 3, soon found themselves reduced to 44 for 6 as New Zealand’s spinners continued to threaten. Jeetan Patel got the first breakthrough, trapping Mehrab Hossain jnr lbw with a straight delivery.

Bangladesh focussed on defence throughout the first hour with the run rate hovering at two runs-an-over. Vettori then picked up his fourth victim, as Tamim Iqbal push meekly at one just outside his off stump, induce an edge to Ross Taylor. Not for the first time in the series, Tamim fell soon after establishing himself at the crease, for 24.

The situation worsened when Mushfiqur Rahim departed without any addition to the score. He fended a short ball from Iain O’Brien off his glove, offering a simple chance to Brendon McCullum down the leg side.

At that stage, the game swung heavily in favour of New Zealand as the follow-on target of 163 was still 119 away. But Shakib Al Hasan and Mashrafe Mortaza set about resurrecting the innings. They showed that the pitch was still good for batting. Defence was still a priority, but both managed to punish the bad balls without difficulty. They put on 78 for the seventh wicket – a partnership that looked to have saved the team.

However, as has been so common in this series, the loss of a few quick wickets once again gave New Zealand another chance of an unlikely victory. Shakib was adjudged lbw trying to sweep a straight delivery from Vettori with the score at 122, still 41 short of the follow-on.

But Mortaza continued punishing the wayward deliveries to give Bangladesh hope, and together with Abdur Razzak the pair took the score to 155, before he was caught at silly mid-off while fending off a short ball from Iain O’Brien. Mortaza finished on 48, hitting seven fours and two sixes.

This gave the New Zealanders one last chance, but Razzak and Shahadat Hossain took their team to safety. And after Shahadat became O’Brien’s third victim of the innings, Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashrufal declared at 169 for 9, still trailing by 93 runs – only the third declaration by a Bangladesh captain in Test cricket.

The pick of the bowlers were Vettori and O’Brien. The former maintained a perfect line and length, finishing with 5 for 66 off 19 overs while O’Brien troubled the batsmen with his short rising deliveries, ending with 3 for 31.

Vettori picked up the Man-of-the-Match award for his five-wicket haul and was also adjudged the Man of the Series.

Source:Cricket News

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