By now, we should have learnt the spelling of this cricket venue in New Zealand.
Bangladeshi cricket fans would remember it as the venue of a pathbreaking Test match played on Jan 1-5, 2022.
It was Bangladesh’s 6th Test win away from home:
And the first win in New Zealand (and in a SENA country, if it matters).
Bangladesh had done particularly badly in New Zealand, as they had lost all 9 previous Tests in that country. In Bangladesh, they had drawn three and lost three to New Zealand.
This was Bangladesh’s first win over New Zealand in 16 Tests. Here you can see a record of these results:
Bangladesh’s batsmen had helped in building the foundations of victory, notably MH Joy (78), NH Shanto (64), Mominul Haque (88) and Liton Das (86).
But the Man of the Match was Ebadot Hossain, with 1-75 and 6-46. (7-121 in the match).
His 6-46 is the best innings bowling for Bangladesh in New Zealand, surpassing the 5-166 by Rubel Hossain at Hamilton in 2010. It is also the best by a Bangladeshi bowler in any of the SENA countries.
And his 7-121 is the best match bowling for Bangladesh in New Zealand, surpassing the 5-88 by Mashraf Mortaza at Dunedin in 2008. And again the best by a Bangladeshi bowler in any of the SENA countries.
The second Test in this series is scheduled for Jan 9-13 at Christchurch. For the moment, Bangladeshi cricket’s supporters can savour a rare win and a 1-0 lead in the series.
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