'Great to bounce back'

Bangladesh probably did lose their steam on the last day of the Test, but the hosts still needed more than 200 runs to win the game on the fifth day and for that they needed a touch of brilliance. That came in the form of skipper Kane Williamson, who absolutely bludgeoned the visitors after the Black Caps had lost two early wickets.

Sure, the wicket at the Basin Reserve was good for batting and Bangladesh were morally down, but Williamson still needed to be aggressive in order to tilt the balance of the match towards his side after they were reduced to 39 for two and that required plenty of guts.

He eventually ended up scoring 104 off 90 balls and was the key reason why the Black Caps managed to race home.

Speaking to reporters after the game, Williamson appreciated the fight that his teammates had displayed and also praised Bangladesh. He thought that the visitors were a bit unlucky due to the injuries in the game.

“They were certainly unlucky with the injuries. That's never nice and hard to control. In terms of the weather, I thought they handled it better than us in the first innings. The way they batted was beautiful on a soft, damp wicket and both teams were going to bowl first. It was dark and rain [there was] around and they played well.

“We took lessons from them going into the second innings. They played fantastic cricket and it was great for us to bounce back and learn and play well and get the result,” said Williamson at the post-match press conference yesterday at the Basin Reserve.

“Mushfiqur's injury didn't help Bangla's cause. He played a great innings in the first innings and was very unfortunate to be out with the injury. The guys were genuinely concerned for his safety. You never want to see that happen.

“We can control what we can, the guys stuck to the plans. The Bangladeshis showed their class with the bat and composure to bat long periods of time in our conditions and score such big runs. Both teams should be credited for a great game of cricket,” he added.

New Zealand's obvious strategy against Bangladesh was to bowl bouncers consistently and Neil Wagner was their main weapon. The pacer never stopped troubling the Bangladeshi batsman. He even got a warning at one point.

“He got one [warning] at one point and if you get two warnings you're off. It is a fine line and he got one warning. Both teams used the short ball well and it is very unfortunate when you do see someone get hit. It's a delicate place and both teams were very concerned. It was uncanny that there were so many people hit on a fast bouncy wicket, which often it goes over the top. You never like to see someone in an ambulance on a cricket field but nice to see he's okay.

“It's a tactic to get players out and it is unfortunate. Nowadays with where cricket gear has got to, the quality is very high. It's nice to see Mushfiqur here doing the interviews. It looked like he's okay, which is really good from our perspective,” said Williamson.

He described the last day of the Test as a very exciting one. “When you go into the last innings of a Test anything can happen. If you are able to bowl you can exert pressure and take wickets in clumps. The way our bowlers came back after a really tough first innings and bowl with energy and put the ball in the right areas was a great effort and that set the game up for us.