Corey Anderson scored his maiden Test century with a calculated dominance of the Bangladesh attack. His 116 led the way for New Zealand as they ended the third day of the second Test on 419 for 8 with a lead of 137.
Shakib Al Hasan’s five-wicket haul was the only solace for Bangladesh, who also had to endure a late, 84-run ninth-wicket partnership between BJ Watling and Ish Sodhi. On a pitch that is offering more turn every day, the stand further dented the confidence of the Bangladesh bowlers. Watling was unbeaten on 59 and Sodhi on 53, the legspinner’s maiden Test fifty.
Bangladesh had a good start to the day, picking one of the two wickets they had sought desperately on the second day. New Zealand had added 20 runs in 3.3 overs before Ross Taylor edged Shakib to first slip for 53 off 79 balls.
Williamson was the other wicket that the hosts wanted but they didn’t get the batsman for another couple of hours. While they focused on dismissing New Zealand’s No. 3, Bangladesh were blind-sided by Anderson, who had made his debut in the first Test in Chittagong.
Anderson made a quiet start, scoring just one run off his first 12 deliveries, but broke free with a four through long-on off Sohag Gazi. He swiftly hit a few more fours before swinging a six off Shakib and brought up his fifty off 72 balls. At lunch, New Zealand were 51 runs behind, but Anderson had moved to 75 and Williamson was on 56.
The pair ensured New Zealand also maintained a good run-rate of 3.72. The first session saw New Zealand score 124 runs for the loss of one wicket and, with the threat of rain and a spinning track, it marked a shift in the momentum of the game.
Thirty-odd minutes after the break, Anderson reached his hundred with a glide through midwicket off Gazi. It was an assertive innings – Bangladesh couldn’t get Anderson playing and missing for too long, and eventually the batsman would hit out with a four. Predictably, he played spin more than pace but dominated Shakib, Gazi and Abdur Razzak. Against Rubel Hossain, who tested him on a few occasions from around the wicket, Anderson struck five boundaries.
At the other end, Williamson steadily brought up his third successive fifty in the series with a four down the ground off Al-Amin Hossain. Williamson had a reprieve on 58 when Mushfiqur dropped a chance off Gazi, but fortunately for Bangladesh, it didn’t cost them too much as the batsman was out for 62.
Razzak broke the 140-run stand as Williamson miscued and holed out to Tamim Iqbal at deep mid-wicket. Seven overs later, Al-Amin had Anderson caught in the covers for his first Test wicket. Anderson scored 116 off 173 balls with 13 fours and a couple of sixes.
Shakib completed his tenth five-wicket haul when he had Doug Bracewell caught behind in the 101st over of the New Zealand innings. Then came the late-order resistance from Sodhi and Watling, who made sure they held on to the advantage created by the middle-order.
It wasn’t an attractive stand, but the pair nudged and smothered the spin and the frustration of the crowd grew with every lightly tapped boundary from Watling. Sodhi showed his batting potential, not reluctant to manufacture shots when the field was up.
Bangladesh’s bowling, indifferent throughout the day, hardly had venom at the stage. Gazi remained wicketless and had himself to blame for spilling a return chance from Sodhi. Razzak was expensive on the second evening, and mostly ineffective on the third day. Rubel and Al-Amin tried hard, but the New Zealand batsmen played them well. Shakib remained the best bowler on show, although he too strayed towards the end.
Bangladesh now have the hard task of staying in contention in the game. Apart from dismissing New Zealand quickly, they must come up with a proper second-innings response to put the visitors out of the game. For that, they can learn from the Williamson-Anderson stand that has given New Zealand an advantage.
