Tim Southee captured his sixth five-wicket haul in Test cricket as New Zealand bowled Bangladesh out for 289 in the final five minutes of the first day of the second match at Hagley Oval in Christchurch Friday. Southee had Kamrul Islam trapped in front for two in the 85th over, shortly after the game had been delayed for about 10 minutes when Rubel Hossain received medical treatment after being hit on the elbow by Trent Boult. Southee finished with figures of 5-94, while Boult backed up his new ball partner with 4-87. Souyma Sarkar, promoted to open in a patchwork Bangladesh side which was missing batsmen Imrul Kayes and Mominul Haque and captain Mushfiqur Rahim due to injury, top scored with 86 after the visitors had been asked to bat by Kane Williamson. Bangladesh was put under immense pressure by Southee and Boult who finally got some swing and reduced the visitors to 38 for two in the 11th over with Tamim Iqbal (five) and Mahmudullah (19) both caught by wicketkeeper BJ Watling. Soumya and first Test double centurion Shakib Al Hasan began to counter attack. The pair were not afraid to play their shots and raced through to 128 for two with numerous boundaries of the 15 the duo struck before lunch flying just wide of the hands of fielders down to the third man or fine leg fence. Boult finally broke the 127-run partnership after lunch when Soumya was caught by Colin de Grandhomme in the slips. As has been typical for Bangladesh on its tour of New Zealand, it lost wickets in clumps, with Sabbir Rahman (seven) and Shakib (59) falling shortly after to reduce their side to 179 for five. Nurul Hasan, deputizing for Mushfiqur, and debutant Nazmul Hossain steadied the innings and took their side through to 232 before Nazmul was caught by Jeet Raval off Southee for a patient 18. Mehedi Hasan (10), Taskin Ahmed (eight) stayed with Nurul for as long as they could as he crept toward his first Test half century, but he was the ninth wicket to fall for 47 when Watling took his fourth catch of the innings. New Zealand won the first Test by seven wickets. Sri Lanka backs Mathews Sri Lanka Cricket has not lost faith in skipper Angelo Mathews despite the team's Test drubbing in South Africa and backed him to continue as captain until the end of the 2019 World Cup in England and Wales. The 3-0 whitewash in South Africa triggered speculation about Mathews' future as captain but SLC believes the all-rounder can rebuild the team which still remains in the throes of a transition since stalwarts Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene quit international cricket in 2015. "Angelo has our fullest backing. We are looking at him leading us at the 2019 World Cup," SLC President Thilanga Sumathipala told reporters Thursday. "We have some aggressive plans leading up to the T20s and ODIs (in South Africa). Angelo is a kind of guy who takes responsibility and we are confident that he will help the team turn things around," Sumathipala added. Chief selector Sanath Jayasuriya blamed the loss in South Africa to inexperience and urged patience. – Agencies
