Kane Williamson's century helped New Zealand cruise to 280-5 against Bangladesh on the first day of the first Test on Wednesday.
Williamson made his 114 facing 210 balls before he was trapped lbw by left-arm spinner Shakib Al Hasan in the day's second-to-last over. When captain Brendon McCullum also fell lbw in the last over to left-armer Abdur Razzak, the umpires ended a day in which Bangladesh struggled in the field but finished in style.
Bangladesh took three wickets for 36 runs to clamber back into the test, reward for tighter bowling in the last session.
Until the last two overs, however, New Zealand dominated after winning the toss, with opener Peter Fulton collecting 73.
losing three late wickets disappointed New Zealand. "We spoke about it in the last few days, to make it a big score when you get in," Fulton said. "So it was pretty disappointing to not be able to carry on with the job."
But it was satisfactory for the hosts. "This was a good comeback," said Nasir Hossain, who removed Fulton. "I would say the game is still in our hand and we are now in a very good position."
Fulton said they were still in the hunt to post a good score. "We have capable batsmen, if we can get up around that 400 mark, it would get us in a strong position," Fulton said. After losing Hamish Rutherford for 34 at 57-1 while attempting a pull shot in the morning, Fulton and Williamson built a 126-run partnership.
Brief Scores — NZ: 280/5 (Kane Williamson 115, Peter Fulton 73; Abdur Razzak 2/100) vs Bangladesh at stumps on Day 1.