Bangladesh's Mohammad Mahmudullah was delighted to score his maiden Test century against New Zealand on Wednesday.
Bangladesh all-rounder hails "really good day for me and the team"
Bangladesh's Mohammad Mahmudullah was delighted to score his maiden Test century against New Zealand after falling agonisingly short of the three-figure mark against India recently.
The 24-year-old all-rounder came up four runs short against India but made no mistake in Hamilton on Wednesday with an innings of 115 that was laden with boundaries.
Together with captain Shakib Al Hasan (87), Mahmudullah helped Bangladesh post 408 all out in reply to New Zealand's first-innings total of 553-7.
"It's a really good day for me and for the team that we finally got a very good score on the board," Mahmudullah said.
"I was a bit unhappy that I didn't get the hundred last time. This time I got the hundred and I'm very happy.
"This innings might be the best one so far. The situation wasn't good because we had lost six wickets for 200 runs. But we coped with the crunch moments and capitalised on the bad balls.
"Shakib was aggressive as well and the ball was doing a bit so it was good fun."
The pair put on a 145-run stand for the seventh wicket which hauled Bangladesh back from the brink in the one-off Test.
Controversial
However, Shakib's innings ended in controversial fashion when he was given out by umpire Rob Tucker - replays suggesting the ball did not carry to New Zealand wicketkeeper Brendon McCullum.
Shakib did not ask for the decision to be referred and afterwards Mahmudullah played down the incident.
"I thought it was a fair catch the way the New Zealanders were coming (into a huddle)," he said.
"But it's part of the game. The boys were unhappy that Shakib didn't get the hundred because the chance was there. But it's part of cricket, it's part of life. You've got to accept it."
Meanwhile, New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori admitted McCullum had not been sure if the ball had carried.
"I actually haven't seen the replays but from our part Brendon wasn't sure and he asked me to ask the umpires and I went and asked the umpires and they were happy that it carried," said Vettori.
"We did everything we could on our part. They could have used a referral. Like I said, Brendon wasn't 100 per cent sure so I talked to the umpires and they were confident that Brendon caught it."
Vettori also had praise for Shakib and Mahmudullah, despite the former hitting nine boundaries off him between lunch and tea.
"They played well and were aggressive and I think it made for good Test cricket which was good to watch if you weren't me," said the spin bowler.
"They played really well. I liked the intensity that they played with and they put the pressure back on us."
Target in mind
With bad light stopping play early, New Zealand ended the day 154 runs ahead with the hosts on 9-1 in their second innings after BJ Watling was run out.
But Vettori was non-committal when asked whether he had a particular target in mind for Bangladesh to chase with two days to go.
"We want to bat well in the morning and bat two sessions and see where we are at that stage," he added.
"I got a few to turn today. It's a good deck, so there will probably be a few questions asked by the spinners but I still see the seamers playing a big role.
"Our seamers need to execute better to put Bangladesh under pressure because if you give them loose balls, like any team, they will put you away."
