Ross Taylor called it "a great way to finish" as the New Zealand batting great bowed out of Test cricket on Tuesday as a bowling hero.

The 37-year-old took the last Bangladesh wicket to ensure New Zealand won the second Test in Christchurch and drew the series.

With Bangladesh nine down, and the Hagley Oval crowd roaring for him to have a bowl, Taylor had Ebadot Hossain caught by skipper Tom Latham.

"It was a great way to finish," he said.

New Zealand's Ross Taylor (C) and his family pose after his last Test match. Photo: AFP

"Tim (Southee) kept telling me to chuck it up so I chucked it up. Tom said it was the most pressure he felt in the whole game."

It was only the eighth innings in his 112-Test career that Taylor has bowled his off-breaks and only the second match in which he has taken a wicket, after collecting two against India 12 years ago.

Latham said he was aware of the crowd wanting Taylor to bowl but it was the umpires who forced the decision when they said the light had faded too much to allow any more fast bowling.

"I guess the way it worked out couldn't have been scripted," Latham said.

"To grab (the catch) and sign off a Test like that and for Ross to have another Test wicket under his belt was pretty special. It was a massive Test for Ross, this one."

Taylor still has one-day series against Australia and the Netherlands before he ends a 16-year international career in which he has amassed a host of records.

Among them are a New Zealand record 7,683 Test runs and he also has the most runs for the country in ODIs.

He also has the highest Test score in Australia by a visiting player -- 290 at Perth in 2015.