Dhaka draw seals series stalemate

Cricket365
October 25, 2013

Day five of the final Test between Bangladesh and New Zealand at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka was abandoned without a ball bowled on Friday, leaving the two-match series drawn nil-nil.

Umpires Richard Illingworth and Bruce Oxenford consistently deliberated over conditions, but inclement weather had the final say at 14:05 local time (08:05 GMT).

Proceedings were evenly poised on Thursday, when an unbeaten century from the in-form Mominul Haque and opener Tamim Iqbal's patient 70 carried the hosts to 269 for three – and a promising lead of 114.

"If you talk about the whole series, it was our target to consistently play well throughout. It was not easy for us. We played a Test match after nearly five or six months. We didn't get that many chances to play longer-version matches. It was a challenge for us," said home captain Mushfiqur Rahim.

"It is a good sign that some players played well under pressure. We tend to play one Test well followed by a bad performance in the next one. It was nice to see that we have backed our performance in the first Test with a good showing in the second one."

Last week's series opener at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong was also drawn, despite host all-rounder Sohag Gazi's maiden Test century and historic hat-trick.

"I think obviously we came here and we wanted to win this Test series and we were expected to do so as well," said visiting skipper Brendon McCullum.

"If we strip it right back I think that the cricket we've played through the series has been very good. I think a drawn series is a fair reflection because I also think that Bangladesh played some excellent cricket in this series as well."

The Tigers and Black Caps will soon meet for three ODIs and a one-off T20I. The first ODI will get underway at the same venue on Tuesday.