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Guptill, McCullum lead New Zealand fight back

February 15, 2010 14:40 IST

Martin Guptill and Brendon McCullum were anchoring a New Zealand recovery against Bangladesh before bad light stopped play on the first day of the one-off cricket Test in Hamilton.

New Zealand were 250-5 after 66.2 overs when the game was called off on the opening day.

Bangladesh had knocked the top order of the New Zealand batting, picking wickets at regular intervals to leave them reeling at 158-5.

But Guptill proved resolute to continue his recent good form and was unbeaten on a test-best 74 that included 10 fours, Stuff.co.nz reports.

He and Brendon McCullum (56 n.o.) were fighting back after New Zealand's sloppy opening session.

Bangladesh won the toss and had no hesitation in trying to take advantage of good bowling conditions. The match began an hour late following morning rain.

The thick cloud cover that hung over the ground helped the tourists swing the ball while Seddon Park also provided a greenish wicket.

Guptill was dropped when he was on four, but moved past 50 setting a good example for McCullum.

They took New Zealand to 212-5 at tea and continued confidently in the final session.

New Zealand has so far completely dominated the tour, winning the opening T20 by 10 wickets and claiming a clean sweep of the three-match One-day series.

Scorecard:

New Zealand (1st innings)

T McIntosh c Kayes b Islam 7

B Watling c Siddique b Hossain 13

P IngramĀ  c Hossain b Hossain 42

L Taylor c Rahim b Hossain 40

M Guptill not out 80

D Vettori b Hasan 10

B McCullum not out 58

Extras (b-1,lb-2,w-3,nb-2) 8

Total (5 wickets; 68.1 overs) 258

Fall of wickets: 1-17, 2-57, 3-66, 4-126, 5-158.

Bowling: S Hossain 13.1-1-74-0, S Islam 16-1-54-1, R Hossain 16-0-86-3, S Hasan 20-5-34-1, A Ahmed 2-0-4-0, Mahmudullah 1-0-3-0.

Source: ANI