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New Zealand Test skipper Tim Southee slammed the pitch at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka and called the wicket the "worst" he has seen in his career after Blackcaps tied the two-match Test series with Bangladesh.
Thirty batters were dismissed by spinners as 36 wickets fell in 178.1 overs of play - the third-lowest number of balls bowled in a Test (1069) for that many wickets to fall - and Southee felt the pitch was far too friendly to bowlers, creating an uneven contest. "It is probably the worst wicket I've come across in my career. The balance between bat and ball was heavily favoured in the bowler's hands. I think for the match to be over in 170 overs sort of reflects that. So, for our guys to scrap away and then come away with the win was a big pleasure," Southee was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo. "I think it was just a scrappy Test match. It was a tough wicket. Runs were hard to come by, and just those little moments and partnerships throughout were crucial, whereas, in other matches, I guess when conditions are a little bit more even between bat and ball, they don't get noticed as much," he added. "When we play Tests, we are not here to improve. This is not a place for practice. We are trying to win the Test. We must prepare to win the Test, but we should take this type of advantage. We can prepare in first-class cricket by trying out good wickets. We should prepare wickets like these and wickets like away conditions in NCL [National Cricket League] or BCL [Bangladesh Cricket League]," Shanto said. When asked if the pitch in Sylhet for the first Test, which extended into the final day, gave the squad a "home advantage," Shanto pointed out that bowlers suffered there. "It wasn't a very helpful wicket for bowlers in Sylhet. Bowlers had to work hard for their wickets. There was a bit of help for both bowlers and batters. We didn't bat well in Dhaka. We should have scored 230-240 runs in the first innings. The wicket seemed bad because we got 172. New ball was a challenge, but that's also true anywhere around the world. It wasn't anything different here, but we could have avoided this situation if we batted better in the first innings," he said. New Zealand levelled the two-match Test series against Bangladesh by clinching victory in the second game within four days on Saturday at the Shere Bangla National Stadium and the Test series on 1-1 scoreline. Glenn Phillps once again stole the show with the bat scoring 40* off 48 balls and stitching a crucial unbeaten 70-run partnership with Mitchell Santner. The Tigers began the day with a score of 38/2 with the spinner duo of Ajaz Patel and Mitchell Santner combining to scalp eight. The 35-year-old left-arm orthodox ended the second innings with six wickets while Santner added three wickets to his kitty. Zakir Hasan's 59 propelled Bangladesh to a score of 144 in 35 overs. New Zealand had a slender lead of 8 runs after the end of the first innings, as a result, the Kiwis set out to chase a target of 137. (ANI)
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