New Zealand
Women's World Cup: New Zealand beats Bangladesh by 9 wickets
Suzie Bates scored 79 and shared an unbroken 108-run partnership with Amelia Kerr to steer New Zealand to a nine-wicket win over Bangladesh on Monday in a rain-shortened match at the Women’s Cricket World Cup.
The win breathed new life into New Zealand’s ailing campaign after its shock loss to the West Indies in the tournament's opening match put the host a step behind the leading teams after the first full round of matches.
For much of Monday, New Zealand faced the bleak prospect that its match against Bangladesh would be washed out, that the teams would share the points and it would be left with only one point from two games.
Read:Allan Donald: What Can Bangladesh Cricket Expect From Their New Pace Bowling Coach?
But the rain that prevented the start of play at 11 a.m. local time lifted to allow a shortened match to get underway at 3 p.m. A minimum of 20 overs per side was needed to constitute a match.
Bangladesh batted first after losing the toss and made 140-8, led by Fargana Hoque, who made 52 from 63 balls.
New Zealand lost Sophie Devine, a century-maker in its opening match, with the total at 36 in the seventh over. Bates and Kerr came together and guided New Zealand to victory with seven overs or 42 balls to spare. Kerr dabbed the ball behind point for four to bring up the winning runs and finish 47 not out.
Bates’ half century was her 28th in one-day internationals and at 73 she surpassed 1,000 runs in World Cup matches. Her innings was also her first in an international match on her home ground at the University Oval.
It was played in intermittent rain and in bitterly cold conditions. New Zealand always faced the nervous prospect the rain might return intensely enough to stop the match before the 20th over, causing the points to be shared.
The rain at times was heavy during the New Zealand innings but Bangladesh kept the contest alive regardless and New Zealand won at the completion of the 20th over.
Read:India beats Pakistan by 107 runs at Women's World Cup
“It’s been a strange day,” said Bates, who was player of the match. “It’s my home town, I’ve never played here and this morning I opened the curtains and I was devastated.
“Once I got out there it was just about having fun and having that partnership with (Amelia) and absorbing that pressure. " Bangladesh began aggressively after being sent in, taking a toll on the New Zealand medium pacers and rushing to 31 after only three overs. But the advent of the spinners slowed down the scoring rate and, as wickets fell regularly, it struggled to rebuild momentum.
New Zealand made a more cautious beginning and was 29-0 after, 57-1 after 10 overs. Bates and Kerr accumulated steadily, mostly through singles. Bangladesh set a tight ring field and fielded well, making boundaries hard to come by.
Near the end, New Zealand stepped up the pace and the century partnership between Bates and Kerr came from 81 balls.
New Zealand considering law to sanction Russia
New Zealand’s government plans to rush through legislation that will allow it to impose economic sanctions against Russia over the invasion of Ukraine.
New Zealand’s existing laws don’t allow it to impose meaningful sanctions except as part of a broader United Nations effort. That has left New Zealand hamstrung since Russia has U.N. Security Council veto power.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Monday the new legislation would allow New Zealand to target people, companies and assets associated with the invasion, including Russian oligarchs. New Zealand also could freeze assets and stop superyachts or planes from arriving.
Read: Russia sets ceasefire for evacuations amid heavy shelling
Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta said the bill “will send a very clear signal that New Zealand will not be a safe haven for those wishing to move their investments here.”
The Russia Sanctions Bill is scheduled to be heard by lawmakers on Wednesday and could pass as quickly as the same day. Ardern said she’s hoping it will be supported by lawmakers across all parties although a unanimous vote wasn’t guaranteed.
WASHINGTON — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says the House is exploring legislation to further isolate Russia from the global economy, including banning the import of its oil and energy products into the U.S.
Australia beats England on sad day at ICC Women's World Cup
In a match made solemn by tragic circumstances, an Australian team batting with two black armbands beat England by 12 runs Saturday in its opening match at the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup at Hamilton, New Zealand.
Australia scored 310-3 batting first and a magnificent century from 79 balls by England’s Nat Sciver kept England in the match until the final over. Sciver was 109 not out at the end of an outstanding England run chase.
England needed 36 from the last three overs, 26 from the last two and 16 from the final over but fell short, finishing 298-8. Jess Johansen who had given up 16 runs from her first two overs, mostly to Sciver, bowled the last over and held her nerve to clinch Australia’s win.
The Australian players awoke on match day to news of the death in Thailand at 52 of the legendary Australia leg-spinner Shane Warne. That came only 24 hours after the loss of another Australia great, wicketkeeper/batsman Rod Marsh, who died aged 74.
Also read: ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2022: Full Fixtures, Dates, Venues
A minute’s silence was observed before the match, players from both teams standing with their heads bowed before the Australian anthem rang over a silent stadium.
When Australia batted after losing the toss, it was almost with a sense of duty to make their own tribute to Warne and Marsh through their performance.
It was a performance of which Warne and Marsh, who both were inspirational mentors to young Australian players, would have been proud.
Opener Rachael Haynes made 130 from 131 balls and captain Meg Lanning 86 as Australia scored the highest total ever posted against England in a World Cup match. Haynes and Lanning put on 196 for Australia’s second wicket in the partnership on which the innings was founded.
“It was hard at the beginning, they bowled well early on,” Lanning said. “Rachael played really well to weather the early storm. Rachel’s innings was brilliant. She was in control, got through early, took good risks at the right time. It’s certainly one of her best innings.”
It was Haynes’ second century in one-day internationals and her highest score, eclipsing her 118 against Sri Lanka in Brisbane in 2019. Lanning posted her 18th one-day international half century and helped Haynes pace the Australian innings.
At Dunedin, Ayabonga Khaka took 4-32, including her 100th wicket in one-day internationals, as South Africa beat Bangladesh by 32 runs. South Africa made 207 batting first after losing the toss.
Opener Laura Wolvardt anchored the top of the order with 41 from 52 balls in challenging batting conditions. Bangladesh used its slow medium and spin bowlers to good effect on a slowish pitch at the University Oval, making strokeplay and placement difficult.
Captain Sane Luus batted 50 minutes for 25 before being run out when South Africa was 119-5 in the 34th over, needing to lift its run rate.
Also read: ICC Men's Best Cricketer Award January 2022: Ebadot Named in Final Three
Marizanne Kapp and Chloe Tryon took on the role of accelerating the scoring and combined in a partnership of 71 for the sixth wicket which lifted South Africa to 190-6. Kapp made 42 from 45 balls and Tryon 39 from 40. South Africa was 203-9 when Kapp was out in the 49th over.
Bangladesh made a strong run at its winning target after Shamima Sultana (27) and Sharmin Akhter (34) shared a 69-run opening stand in 19.3 overs.
Captain Nigar Sultana made 29, Ritu Moni 27 and Bangladesh was still in with a chance at 170-7 with four overs left. But Khaka helped suppress the Bangladesh chase.
“We are proud of Ayabonga Khaka, she is our golden arm at the moment,” Luus said.
Protester drives at New Zealand police as cordon tightens
One protester drove a car toward a New Zealand police line, narrowly avoiding officers, while other protesters sprayed officers with a stinging substance, police said Tuesday, as they tightened a cordon around a convoy that has been camped outside Parliament for two weeks.
The clashes in the capital of Wellington came a day after police reported that some of the protesters had thrown human feces at them.
Police Assistant Commissioner Richard Chambers told reporters the actions of some of the protesters, who oppose coronavirus vaccine mandates, were unacceptable and would be dealt with assertively.
“Our focus remains on opening the roads up to Wellingtonians and doing our absolute best to restore peaceful protest,” Chambers said. “The behavior of a certain group within the protest community is absolutely disgraceful.”
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said protesters had taken things too far and needed to return home.
“What’s happening in Wellington is wrong,” she said.
The latest clashes began after about 250 officers and staff arrived at dawn and used forklifts to move concrete barriers into a tighter cordon around the encampment, where hundreds of cars and trucks remain blocking city streets. Police have used the barriers this week to allow protest cars to leave but none to enter.
Video posted online shows a white car driving the wrong way down a one-way street toward a group of officers who quickly get out of the way while people shout. The vehicle comes to a stop at the police line and several officers climb inside and pull out the driver.
Police said the officers had been lucky to escape injury after the car stopped just short of colliding with them. They said they had arrested one person for driving in a dangerous manner and two others for obstructing police.
Chambers said the three officers who were sprayed with the unknown stinging substance had been treated at a hospital and were recovering well.
Read: War fears grow as Putin orders troops to eastern Ukraine
The protest, which began when a convoy of cars and trucks drove to Parliament, was inspired by similar protests in Canada. Protesters have been well organized, setting up tents on the lawns outside Parliament and trucking in portable toilets, crates of donated food, and bales of straw to lay down when the grass turned to mud after Parliament Speaker Trevor Mallard turned on the sprinklers and blasted Barry Manilow tunes in a failed effort to make them leave.
Protesters have even dug a vegetable garden, set up a daycare tent, and assembled makeshift showers as they signal their intent to stay for a long time.
New Zealand has mandated that certain workers get vaccinated against COVID-19, including teachers, doctors, nurses, police and military personnel. A vaccine pass is also required to enter most stores and restaurants.
The protests come as New Zealand experiences its first big COVID-19 outbreak, which has been fueled by the omicron variant. Daily case numbers jumped to a new high of more than 2,800 on Tuesday, although only a single patient was hospitalized in an intensive care unit. About 77% of the population is vaccinated.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, New Zealand has reported just 56 virus deaths among its population of 5 million, after it imposed strict border controls and lockdowns to eliminate earlier outbreaks.
Ardern said earlier this week she plans to begin easing virus mandates and restrictions once the peak of the current outbreak has passed.
ICC Women's World Cup: Bangladesh team leaves for New Zealand
A 20-member Bangladesh National Women's Cricket team left Dhaka on Thursday for New Zealand to participate in the ICC Women's World Cup' 2022 beginning on March 4 .
Bangladesh team, which left the capital Thursday afternoon without one Covid infected cricketer and two supporting staff by a Singapore Airlines flight, is expected to reach Auckland Friday night at about 11 pm.
The Bangladesh team has only five days preparations at home before departure, will have to go for a 10-day quarantine in hotel before starting the practices there.
Also read: Bangladesh squad announced for ICC Women's World Cup Qualifier
Nigar Sultana Joyti led-Bangladesh women's team will start their World Cup campaign taking on South Africa on March 5 though the tournament will start on March 4.
In the remaining matches , Bangladesh will play Pakistan on March 14, West Indies on March 18, India on March 22, Australia on March 25 and England on March 27.
Members of Bangladesh team: Nigar Sultana Joyti (captain) , Salma Khatun, Rumana Ahmed, Fargana Haque Pinki, Jahanara Alam, Shamima Sultana, Fahima Khatun, Ritu Moni, Murshida Khatun, Nahida Akhter, Sharmin Akhter Supta, Lata Mondal, Sobhana Mostary, Fariha Islam Trishna and Suriya Azmim.
Also read: ICC Women's World Cup qualifiers postponed
Reserve cricketers: Sanjida Akhter Meghla and Nuzhat Tasnia.
New Zealand to end quarantine stays and reopen its borders
New Zealand’s government on Thursday said it will end its quarantine requirements for incoming travelers and reopen its borders, a change welcomed by thousands of citizens abroad who have endured long waits to return home.
Since the start of the pandemic, New Zealand has enacted some of the world’s strictest border controls. Most incoming travelers need to spend 10 days in a quarantine hotel room run by the military, a requirement that has created a bottleneck at the border.
The measures were initially credited with saving thousands of lives and allowed New Zealand to eliminate or control several outbreaks of the coronavirus.
Read: New Zealand to start reopening borders to world from January
But, increasingly, the border controls have been viewed as out-of-step in a world where the virus is becoming endemic, and in a country where the omicron variant is already spreading. The bottleneck forced many New Zealanders abroad to enter a lottery-style system to try and secure a spot in quarantine and passage home.
The shortcomings of the system were highlighted over the past week by pregnant New Zealand journalist Charlotte Bellis, who was stranded in Afghanistan after New Zealand officials initially rejected her application to return home to give birth. After international publicity, officials backed down and offered her a spot in quarantine, which she has accepted.
The border changes mean that vaccinated New Zealanders returning from Australia will no longer need to go into quarantine from the end of this month, and vaccinated New Zealanders returning from the rest of the world can skip quarantine by mid-March. They will still be required to isolate at home.
However, most tourists will need to wait until October before they can enter the country without a quarantine stay. And anybody who isn’t vaccinated will still be required to go through quarantine.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she knows many people associate the border controls with heartache but they have undeniably saved lives.
“There is no question that for New Zealand, it has been one of the hardest parts of the pandemic,” she said. “But the reason that it is right up there as one of the toughest things we have experienced is, in part, because large-scale loss of life is not.”
She said the controls “meant not everyone could come home when they wanted to. But it also meant that COVID could not come in when it wanted to, either.”
Read:US to reopen land borders in November for fully vaccinated
Ardern said the restrictions had allowed New Zealand to build its defenses against the virus by achieving high levels of vaccination while also keeping the economy running strongly.
About 77% of New Zealanders are fully vaccinated, according to Our World in Data. That rises to 93% among those aged 12 and over, according to health officials.
New Zealand has reported just 53 virus deaths among its population of 5 million.
New Zealand’s economy did return to growth quickly after a pandemic dip, and unemployment decreased to 3.2% in the latest quarter, the lowest level since record-keeping began in 1986. But the government has also increased borrowing sharply and home prices have skyrocketed.
Opposition leader Christopher Luxon said the reopening of the border was welcome news, and his National Party had long called for the government to “end the lottery of human misery.”
Ardern said it was a first step toward normality.
“There was life before, and now life with COVID, but that also means there will be life after COVID too, a life where we have adapted, where we have some normality back, and where the weather can once again take its rightful place as our primary topic of conversation,” Ardern said. “We are well on our way to reaching that destination. We’re just not quite there yet.”
First aid flights leave for Tonga after big volcano eruption
The first flights carrying fresh water and other aid to Tonga were finally able to leave Thursday after the Pacific nation's main airport runway was cleared of ash left by a huge volcanic eruption.
A C-130 Hercules military transport plane left New Zealand carrying water containers, kits for temporary shelters, generators, hygiene supplies and communications equipment, New Zealand's Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta said.
Australia also sent a C-17 Globemaster transport plane with another to follow that were carrying humanitarian supplies. The flights were all due to arrive in Tonga on Thursday afternoon.
Read:Tsunami threat recedes from huge Pacific volcanic eruption
The deliveries will be done with no contact because Tonga is desperate to make sure foreigners don't bring in the coronavirus. It has not had any outbreaks of COVID-19 and has reported just a single case since the pandemic began.
"The aircraft is expected to be on the ground for up to 90 minutes before returning to New Zealand,” Defense Minister Peeni Henare said.
Japan also said it would send emergency relief, including drinking water and equipment for cleaning away volcanic ash. Two Hercules aircraft and a transport vessel carrying two CH-47 Chinook helicopters would leave possibly Thursday, the Defense Ministry said.
Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi told reporters that his ministry “will do everything we can for the disaster-hit people of Tonga.”
U.N. humanitarian officials report that about 84,000 people — more than 80% of Tonga’s population — have been impacted by the volcano’s eruption, U.N. spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said, pointing to three deaths, injuries, loss of homes and polluted water.
Communications with Tonga remain limited after Saturday's eruption and tsunami appeared to have broken the single fiber-optic cable that connects Tonga with the rest of the world. That means most people haven’t been able to use the internet or make phone calls abroad, although some local phone networks are still working.
A navy patrol ship from New Zealand is also expected to arrive later Thursday. It is carrying hydrographic equipment and divers, and also has a helicopter to assist with delivering supplies.
Officials said the ship's first task would be to check shipping channels and the structural integrity of the wharf in the capital, Nuku'alofa, following the eruption and tsunami.
Another New Zealand navy ship carrying 250,000 liters (66,000 gallons) of water is on its way. The ship can also produce tens of thousands of liters of fresh water each day using a desalination plant.
Three of Tonga’s smaller islands suffered serious damage from tsunami waves, officials and the Red Cross said.
Read:Indonesia raises Semeru volcano alert, fearing new eruption
The U.N.’s Dujarric said “all houses have apparently been destroyed on the island of Mango and only two houses remain on Fonoifua island, with extensive damage reported on Nomuka.” He said evacuations are underway for people from the islands.
According to Tongan census figures, Mango is home to 36 people, Fonoifua is home to 69 people, and Nomuka to 239. The majority of Tongans live on the main island of Tongatapu, where about 50 homes were destroyed.
Dujarric said the most pressing humanitarian needs are safe water, food and non-food items, and top priorities are reestablishing communication services including for international calls and the internet.
Tonga has so far avoided the widespread devastation that many initially feared.
Volcanic ash delays aid to Tonga as scale of damage emerges
Thick ash on an airport runway was delaying aid deliveries to the Pacific island nation of Tonga, where significant damage was being reported days after a huge undersea volcanic eruption and tsunami.
New Zealand’s military is sending much-needed drinking water and other supplies, but said the ash on the runway will delay the flight at least a day. A towering ash cloud since Saturday’s eruption had prevented earlier flights. New Zealand also sent a navy ship to Tonga Tuesday with another planned to leave later in the day and pledged an initial 1 million New Zealand dollars ($680,000) toward recovery efforts.
Australia sent a navy ship from Sydney to Brisbane to prepare for a support mission if needed.
Communications with Tonga have been extremely limited, but New Zealand and Australia sent military surveillance flights to assess the damage on Monday, with aerial photos showing the vibrant Tongan landscape transformed by the ash into a gray moonscape.
U.N. humanitarian officials and Tonga’s government “report significant infrastructural damage around Tongatapu,” U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.
“There has been no contact from the Ha’apai Group of islands, and we are particularly concerned about two small low-lying islands — Mango and Fonoi — following surveillance flights confirming substantial property damage,” Dujarric said.
Read: Hong Kong to cull 2,000 hamsters as some test COVID-positive
New Zealand’s High Commission in Tonga also reported “significant damage” along the western coast of the main island of Tongatapu, including to resorts and along the waterfront area. The commission said Tonga police had confirmed two deaths from the tsunami, including one who was a British national.
Satellite images captured the spectacular eruption, with a plume of ash, steam and gas rising like a giant mushroom above the South Pacific. Tsunami waves of about 80 centimeters (2.7 feet) crashed into Tonga’s shoreline, and crossed the Pacific, causing minor damage from New Zealand to Santa Cruz, California. The eruption set off a sonic boom that could be heard as far away as Alaska.
Two people drowned in Peru, which also reported an oil spill after waves moved a ship that was transferring oil at a refinery.
Family said British woman Angela Glover, 50, died after being swept away by a wave in Tonga.
Nick Eleini said his sister’s body had been found and that her husband survived. “I understand that this terrible accident came about as they tried to rescue their dogs,” Eleini told Sky News. He said it had been his sister’s life dream” to live in the South Pacific and “she loved her life there.”
The explosion of the Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha’apai volcano, about 64 kilometers (40 miles) north of Nuku’alofa, was the latest in a series of dramatic eruptions. In late 2014 and early 2015, eruptions created a small new island and disrupted air travel to the Pacific archipelago.
Earth imaging company Planet Labs PBC had watched the island after a new vent began erupting in late December. Satellite images showed how drastically the volcano had shaped the area, creating a growing island off Tonga.
The U.N. World Food Program is exploring how to bring in relief supplies and more staff and has received a request to restore communication lines in Tonga, Dujarric said.
Read: Satellite photos show aftermath of Abu Dhabi oil site attack
One complicating factor is that Tonga has managed to avoid outbreaks of COVID-19. New Zealand said its military staff were vaccinated and willing to follow Tonga’s protocols.
New Zealand’s military said it hoped the airfield in Tonga would be opened either Wednesday or Thursday. The military said it had considered an airdrop but that was “not the preference of the Tongan authorities.”
Communications with the island nation is limited because the single underwater fiber-optic cable that connects Tonga to the rest of the world was likely severed in the eruption. The company that owns the cable and repairs could take weeks.
Samiuela Fonua, who chairs the board at Tonga Cable Ltd., said the cable appeared to have been severed about 10 to 15 minutes after the eruption. He said the cable lies atop and within coral reef, which can be sharp.
Fonua said a ship would need to pull up the cable to assess the damage and then crews would need to fix it. A single break might take a week to repair, he said, while multiple breaks could take up to three weeks. He added that it was unclear yet when it would be safe for a ship to venture near the undersea volcano to undertake the work.
A second undersea cable that connects the islands within Tonga also appeared to have been severed, Fonua said. However, a local phone network was working, allowing Tongans to call each other. But he said the lingering ash cloud was continuing to make even satellite phone calls abroad difficult
Tigers return home from a different tour of New Zealand
The Bangladesh cricketers returned home from New Zealand on Saturday afternoon, with what will be mixed emotions over their checquered performance in a 2-match Test series against the hosts.
But even that was undoubtedly an improvement over previous tours to the country, thanks to the first Test in Mount Maunganui, where Bangladesh beat the hosts by 8 wickets, scaling a peak that is arguably unmatched in the country's cricket history.
It was Bangladesh’s maiden victory against New Zealand in New Zealand in any format. Before this match, Bangladesh had come a cropper in 32 previous attempts across all three forms of the game.
Read: Central Zone lift Independence Cup title
The players will now get busy with the eighth edition of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), which is set to begin on January 21 in Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium. The event will be played in three different venues across the country.
“The way we played in the first match was a happy thing for us,” Mominul Haque, Bangladesh captain, told the media after the team’s arrival in Dhaka. “And the way we lost the second Test, I’m as a captain not happy with that result. We should have done better.”
Ebadot Hossain, the right-arm fast bowler of the Tigers, played a pivotal role in the Mt Maunganui conquest, with a fiery matchwinning spell of bowling spanning the last hour of play on day 4, and the opening hour of day 5. He was supported by fellow pacers Taskin Ahmed and Shoriful Islam - together the trio took 13 of the 20 New Zealand wickets. Although Mehidy Hasan's contribution with his off spinners (and with the bat) cannot be neglected.
All in all, Bangladesh showed exemplary application and assurance through all 5 days of play in that Test.
Read: Bangamata Football: Rajshahi clinch title beating Mymensingh 2-0
But in the second match Christchurch, Bangladesh not only failed to capitalise in terms of the result - the return of a familiar batting collapse to get bowled out in less than two sessions in their first innings was too abrupt a return to the former selves, the listless approach, the cheap throwing away of wickets cheaply. Still, a defiant century by Liton Das in the second innings, even as the team lost the match by an innings and 117 runs, signalled what a new generation has to offer.
Bangladesh’s next international assignment is to play against Afghanistan at home. This series will take place right after the BPL.
Bangladesh end New Zealand tour with Liton’s imperious ton
With Liton Das’s imperious ton at Christchurch, his second in career, Bangladesh ended the New Zealand series with a draw 1-1 on Tuesday. Despite his century, Bangladesh lost the second Test in Christchurch by an innings and 117 runs within the third day of the match.
It has been Bangladesh’s best Test result against New Zealand so far. Before this series, Bangladesh played a total of 32 international matches in New Zealand but failed to win any of them. But in the first Test, Bangladesh managed to beat the Kiwis by eight wickets and created history.
“It was a dream to win a Test abroad against a big team,” Mominul Haque, Bangladesh captain told after the match. “It was so important for us to register the first win. We will also win series abroad in future. We now have that important belief. It was the biggest positive side of this series. But we have many things to do.”
Also read: Ashwell Prince laments Tigers' batting collapse in Christchurch
Bangladesh, however, failed to continue on a good run in the second Test when they had to endure a defeat by an innings and 117 runs.
In the first innings of the match, New Zealand had posted a massive total of 521 for six and declared the innings. Tom Latham, the New Zealand captain hit a double-ton while Devon Conway registered this second century of the series as well.
In reply, Bangladesh tumbled for 126 in the first innings with the highest score of 55 by Yasir Ali who was playing only his third Test. Trent Boult bagged five wickets for the hosts— his ninth five-fors in Tests so far.
“It was disappointing that we failed to bat well in the first innings of the second Test,” Mominul said. “Our bowling in this match was also below our standard. Shohan (Nurul Haque), and Yasir (Ali) did well in the first innings, and in the second innings, Liton was outstanding.”
The hosts enforced a follow on, and in the second innings, Bangladesh ended up on 278 all out. They came up with a better response, but it was too late from the Bangladeshi batters.
Liton came to bat at five and posted 102 for 114 balls— his second ton in Test career. His first Test hundred came against Pakistan in the previous series at home— which was Bangladesh’s first series in the new cycle of the World Test Championship.
The second Test of the series was the last Test of New Zealand legend Ross Taylor. The batter ended up his red-ball journey with the wicket of Ebadot Hossain. Latham took a great catch to remove Ebadot, and in his last ball of the career, Taylor got his farewell gift from Ebadot.
Also read: New Zealand take giant stride as Bangladesh suffer batting collapse
While leaving the field for the final time, Taylor got applauded by his teammates, opposition, and the crowd.
Taylor ended his Test career as one of the best batters that New Zealand has ever produced. He helped the Blackcaps won the last year’s World Test Championship final against India. He saw many ups in his career with little downs.
Bangladesh team will now travel back home and start preparing for the upcoming edition of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), which is set to begin on January 21 in Dhaka. This year BPL is scheduled to be played at three venues in Dhaka, Chattogram and Sylhet. However, the official schedule is yet to be revealed.