Taylor ends Test career in style, New Zealand crush Bangladesh

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Black Caps win by an innings and 117 runs

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand, Jan 11, (AP): Ross Taylor ended his 15-year test career by taking a wicket with his part-time offbreaks that clinched a victory for New Zealand over Bangladesh by an innings and 117 runs and tied the two-match series on Tuesday. In dimming light and with Bangladesh nine wickets down, the crowd at Hagley Oval began baying for Taylor, the 37-year-old batter retiring from test cricket after his 112th match, to be given a rare chance to bowl. When the light became too poor for the quicks to continue, New Zealand captain Tom Latham bowed to the crowd’s demand and Taylor’s third ball brought a false shot from Ebadot Hossain, who skied the ball to Latham. “I wanted to finish with a win,” Taylor said, “and the guys obviously gave that to me.” Taylor had bowled only 16 overs in all of his previous tests for two wickets, the last time eight years ago, but fate conspired to bring his career to an extraordinary end.

Ross Taylor (third right) in front, and the New Zealand BlackCaps pose after winning the second test on day three of the second cricket test between Bangladesh and New Zealand at Hagley Oval in Christchurch, New Zealand on Jan 11. (AP)

First mobbed by his teammates and then presented the match ball, he walked from the field through an honor guard formed by Bangladesh, providing one last rich memory of an outstanding career. “We needed to win this game to stay in the series and I thought we played fantastically well,” Taylor said. “Bangladesh put us under pressure at various times and that was probably a fair reflection of where the series was at.”

A defiant 102 by wicketkeeper Liton Das made Bangladesh a hard nut to crack, forcing a match which many thought would be over quickly into the final session of the third day before the last wicket fell 20 minutes from scheduled stumps. Das batted almost one-handed for much of his innings after being struck on the glove. He weathered a barrage of shortpitched bowling from New Zealand to post his second test century, from only 106 balls. Bangladesh rallied around his resilient example to keep New Zealand waiting, but the end came swiftly after his departure as the tourists were dismissed for 278. It was significant that the final catch was taken by Latham as the captain had an outsized influence on this match.

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