Ashwell Prince laments Tigers' batting collapse

It was inevitable that the Kiwis would post a massive first-innings total after Tom Latham and Devon Conway added more than 200 runs in the second-wicket stand, and it happened. But Bangladesh's batting lineup failed to deliver Monday, on the second day of the Christchurch Test, reports UNB.

Replying to New Zealand’s first innings total of 521/6 declared, Bangladesh tumbled for only 126, with all of the top five batters failing to reach double figures.

A 60-run stand by Yasir Ali and Nurul Hasan Shohan rescued the Tigers from an even worse fate. Along the process, Yasir registered his maiden fifty in Tests while Shohan got 41.

“At tea time, we saw that the pitch was quite good for batting. There was value for shots off the surface. The outfield was nice. If we could hang in a little bit, we could get a partnership going,” Bangladesh batting coach Ashwell Prince said at the end of the day’s play.

“The movement happened a bit quicker off the surface today. I was comfortable thinking some of the balls would go past the outside edge. It is normal for these conditions,” he added.

With 49 more overs to play in the day, New Zealand declared unexpectedly, and it seemed that the visitors were not prepared mentally to start batting at that point of the match. It was reflected in their performance when all of the top-five batters returned to the dressing room early.

“Of course, we are disappointed (about the lean show by the top five). It was a massive effort last week. We played 173 overs against a quality bowling attack. I think it is fair to say that we expected New Zealand to come back with a lot more urgency in this game. If you compare the two games, you can see that it is really difficult to fight your way back, even if you are the No 1 team,” Prince also said.

For New Zealand, Trent Boult was tremendous with the ball taking five wickets— his ninth fifer in Tests so far. Along the way, he completed 300 wickets in the format.