Tigers coach Dav Whatmore was also appreciative of that fightback.

"It looked like New Zealand would be batting after tea when we lost three wickets for five runs. At the end, we not only batted out the whole day but also kept fours wickets in hand. What made me more happy was the way the boys fought back," said the Australian.

But Whatmore was understandably critical of the way Rajin Saleh and Mohammad Ashraful gave their wickets away having done all the hard work.

"I am impressed by the way they batted. But they suddenly lost concentration and that brought two bright innings' to premature finishes," said the Bangladesh coach who expected his side to continue fighting throughout this Test match.

Ashraful who produced some scintillating strokes in his 67, acknowledged the fact that he himself should take the blame for not going on to complete what would have been his second Test hundred.

"They tested my patience by sticking to a good line and length and ultimately they succeeded. I was not impatient when I could not get the ball away in the three overs before tea but I lost my temperament after tea and went for that big shot as I could not score in five overs," said Ashraful.

The 20-year old right-hander said that he had planned on not becoming too adventurous after surviving a chance on five when Styris dropped him at cover off left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori.

"After that close call, I talked to Rajin and decided on playing sensibly. The New Zealand bowlers read the pitch brilliantly and concentrated on accuracy rather than trying to do anything extraordinary. We also played according to the merit of the balls but finally we were both dismissed playing the wrong shots," he said.

Seamer Jacob Oram, who made the initial breakthrough by picking up the wickets of Hannan Sarkar and debutant Nafees Iqbal, praised Ashraful's effort.

"He played brilliantly and tried to bat straight. He punished every bad ball which was very impressive," said the towering all-rounder.

"I have enjoyed bowling here. The heat and humidity was not as much as we had expected. We tried to bowl a good line and length on a slow and low pitch and we made a great start although we could not carry it till the end," said Oram.