• Bangladesh defeated New Zealand in the first Test by an astonishing margin of 150 runs.

  • This victory was Bangladesh's first-ever win over New Zealand in a Test match at home.

Twitter Reactions: Taijul Islam’s 6-fer steers Bangladesh to their first-ever Test victory over New Zealand at home
Bangladesh cricket team (Image Source: Twitter)

In a historic achievement, the Bangladesh cricket team achieved their first-ever Test match victory against New Zealand at home at Sylhet International Cricket Stadium on Friday, December 2. The hosts triumphed by 150 runs, claiming a 1-0 lead in the two-game series.

New Zealand, chasing a target of 332, were bowled out for 181, with Taijul Islam delivering a stellar performance, bagging a crucial six-wicket haul (6/75) that played a pivotal role in Bangladesh’s historic win.

Taijul Islam’s six-wicket haul paves the way for Bangladesh’s historic win

During the fourth day, New Zealand found themselves struggling at 113/7 by stumps, still requiring an improbable 219 runs for victory. Daryl Mitchell was the lone survivor from the top six, and the situation seemed dire for the visitors.

On the fifth day of the Test match, Mitchell showcased resilience as he reached his ninth Test fifty. However, his steadfast innings was brought to an end when he failed to connect a sweep off Nayeem Hasan, resulting in a well-taken tumbling catch by Taijul Islam at deep square leg. This dismissal provided Bangladesh with a crucial breakthrough, further shaping the course of the fixture. The last Kiwi wicket fall, in the form of Ish Sodhi, marked Taijul’s sixth victim.

Summary of the game between Bangladesh and New Zealand

In the earlier stages of the match, Bangladesh posted 310 runs in their first innings, while New Zealand, led by their evergreen batter Kane Williamson, secured a seven-run lead in reply, finishing on 317. Bangladesh’s second innings featured a score of 338, with their first time Test captain, Najmul Hossain Shanto, celebrating the occasion by scoring a century. This set the visitors a challenging target of 341 for victory.

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Bangladesh’s strong performance in World Test Championship 2023-2025 Points Table

With this historic win, Bangladesh now accumulates 12 points in the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 points table. Notably, their only other WTC victory was also against New Zealand in Mount Maunganui at the beginning of 2022.

Here’s how Twitter reacted:

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