Jayed, Ebadot find their zone
Following a disappointing show from the Bangladesh seamers in the first Test in Hamilton, it was a good comeback from the two pacers Abu Jayed and Ebatot Hossain against New Zealand after the Tigers were bundled out for 211 at the Basin Reserve in Wellington yesterday.
It was Neil Wagner yet again who employed the short ball to great effect but for the Bangladeshi seamers it was more about bowling in partnership and hitting the right length to get purchase from the greenish pitch as well as some help from the overcast condition after the first two days were washed out.
Jayed dismissed the two centurions of the first Test -- openers Tom Latham and Jeet Raval -- as New Zealand were struggling on eight for two before skipper Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor came to the rescue until rain forced an early end to the days' play.
After the disappointment in the first Test, there was talk about the Bangladesh bowlers not having specific roles, but this time both Ebadot and Jayed seem to be bowling according to a plan.
Both pacers ensured that they forced the Kiwi batters to offer shots and of the 70 deliveries bowled in the innings, New Zealand batsmen played at 48 and left alone 22.
Talking of roles, Ebadot's task was to angle deliveries away from the two left-handers while Jayed looked to attack the batsmen through his swing variations from the other end.
Although Ebadot finished the day wicketless, the right-arm pacer kept up the pressure from one end as there were two maidens in his 5.4 overs.
“We tried to bowl in partnerships; I looked to bowl in a good area consistency while Rahi [Jayed] looked to pick wickets from the other end,” Ebadot told The Daily Star yesterday.
Jayed looked charged up and in aggressive mood right from the start. The right-armer kept the Kiwi openers guessing while swinging the ball both ways and tempted the batsmen with his line.
At the same time, he kept playing the mental game with Latham as he stared towards him and even threw a ball back towards the batsman after the latter had played it back to the bowler.
Latham eventually fell for the trap; edging an away swinging delivery that the left-hander wanted to drive away from his body and was caught behind.
Raval also tried to ease the pressure with an uppish drive off a Jayed delivery which stopped a bit after pitching, and the batsman was caught at cover to give the visitors something to cheer for.
“It was a good start and I hope I will be able to convert this into five or six wickets tomorrow inshaAllah,” an optimistic Jayed told The Daily Star.
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