Online Desk :

Taijul Islam’s 10-wicket haul propelled Bangladesh to their first Test win on home turf against New Zealand. The wily left-arm spinner claimed six wickets in the Black Caps’ second innings, his 12th five-wicket haul in Tests, to secure an emphatic 150-run win in Sylhet on Saturday. Chasing a target of 332 runs, New Zealand resumed the final day at 113 for 7. Despite some dogged resistance from Daryl Mitchell (58) and Ish Sodhi (22), the Bangladesh spinners made short work of the Kiwis’ tail, skittling them out for 181. Off-spinner Nayeem Hasan dismissed Mitchell early in the day before Taijul grabbed the wickets of Sodhi and Tim Southee to complete his 10-wicket haul in the match, returning figures of 6 for 75 in the second innings.

The foundation for Bangladesh’s imposing target was laid by skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto, who notched up a century, his third in four Test innings. Shanto also became the first Bangladeshi batsman to reach the three-figure mark on captaincy debut. The win marks an auspicious start for Bangladesh in the third cycle of the ICC Test Championship. It is their second-ever triumph in the competition, the previous one being against the same opponents in Mount Maunganui in 2021 during the second cycle. The Tigers will now take a 1-0 lead into the final match of the series in Dhaka on Dec 6.