Bangladesh’s Sohag Gazi followed a maiden Test century with a hat-trick to light up the final stages of the first Test against New Zealand which ended in a draw here on Sunday.
The 22-year-old off-spinner had Corey Anderson leg-before, Bradley-John Watling caught behind and Doug Bracewell caught in the slips off successive balls at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury stadium. Gazi’s hat-trick, which gave him his sixth wicket in the innings, saw the Black Caps slump from 260-4 to 260-7 in their second knock after lunch on the fifth and final day.
The tourists declared the innings closed at 287-7, leaving Bangladesh a target of 256 runs in a minimum of 45 overs to win the Test and take the lead in the two-match series.
The hosts showed no appetite to chase the stiff target and ended play on 173-3 in the 49th over, with Shakib Al Hasan unbeaten on 50 and newcomer Mominul Haque on 22.
Gazi, who hit an unbeaten 101 on Saturday, joined Alok Kapali as only the second Bangladesh bowler to claim a Test hat-trick. Kapali had achieved the feat against Pakistan in Peshawar in 2003.
Brief Scores
New Zealand: 469 and 287-7 declared (Kane Williamson 74, Peter Fulton 59, RossTaylor 54 not out; Sohag Gazi 6-77) drew with Bangladesh: 501 and 173-3 (Tamim Iqbal 46, Shakib Al Hasan 50 not out; Bruce Martin 2-62).