'Our process was excellent' - Bangladesh director Khaled Mahmud praises team batting performance against NZ on day three

The first international Test match of 2022 is heating up with a possible upset mounting. Bangladesh have taken control of the Test against New Zealand with an impressive Day 3 performance that saw the team end with a total of 401 runs. With four wickets still in hand, Bangladesh will continue batting tomorrow to extend their 73-run lead over the Blackcaps. Team Director of Bangladesh Cricket, Khaled Mahmud was full of praises for his team’s batting attack and laid out what they aim to achieve with the bat on Day 4.

Day 4 will be streamed live and exclusively on Amazon Prime Video from 3:30 AM IST. Mahmud was proud of the team’s batting performance and praised the execution of the players that helped them build their lead.

“Very good day for our test cricket history. It’s been challenging, but our process was excellent, the boys did a very good job. The execution was proper in the way we batted, we scored maybe 226 runs today while losing four wickets. The players have spent time between the wickets, and they have done a very good job.”

Mahmud elaborated on the importance of the partnership between Mehidy Hasan and Yasir Ali, as they look to close out their stint with the bat tomorrow.

Tomorrow morning is very important: Director of Bangladesh Cricket, Khaled Mahmud

“Tomorrow morning is very important. We have 4 wickets to go, and this partnership is very important. I think Mehidy Hasan and Yasir Ali need to bat for a period of time tomorrow. We have a 73-run lead now, if we can add about 70 runs and bring it closer to 150, we’ll be in a good position.”

New Zealand’s target of 328 was comfortably surpassed by Bangladesh and the Blackcaps will be looking to quickly end the Bangladesh innings and start their second innings. Depending on how long Bangladesh bats tomorrow, we may be circling towards a draw if both teams can’t end their second innings.

Bangladesh’s batting attack was helped by big scores from Mahmudul Hasan Joy (78), Najmul Hossain Shanto (64), Mominul Haque (88), Liton Das (86), and the forty-run partnership between Hasan and Ali to close out Day 3.

The Test series between New Zealand and Bangladesh is the first exclusive live cricket offering to stream on Amazon Prime Video. The first match is scheduled to be played at Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui, Tauranga from 1-5 January, with a start-time of 3:30 AM IST. The second and final test match will be played at Hagley Oval, Christchurch on 9 January and conclude on 13 January.