second Test between Bangladesh and New Zealand

The second Test between Bangladesh and NewZealand finally began in Mirpur under sunny skies after rain had washed out the first three days. Mohammad Ashraful, the Bangladesh captain, decided to bowl on a pitch showing numerous cracks. The ground, however, was still damp and the start was delayed to 10.00am. Heavy moisture was also evident after three days of heavy rain.

The match is still winnable according to Daniel Vettori, in which case, New Zealand will have to pile on some runs quickly to ensure they will need to bat only once.

Both teams made one change to their line-ups from the first Test in Chittagong. Bangladesh replaced Naeem Islam with fast bowler Mahbubul Alam, who will be making his debut. New Zealand brought in all rounder Grant Elliott for Jacob Oram, who returned home because of a back problem. Elliott has played only one Test, against England, earlier this year. Ironically, he came into that match because Oram was injured.

New Zealand lead the two-Test series 1-0 and the amount of time lost in this match has made the possibility of a result extremely unlikely.