Kiwis 'cool' with Mirpur's rank turner

New Zealand faced the music on a rank turner in Mirpur as they struggled on 55 for five at stumps, in reply to Bangladesh's first innings total of 172 on Day 1 of the second Test at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on Wednesday.  

Expectedly, the spinners had a ball as Bangladesh off-spinner Mehedi Hasan Miraz picked up three wickets with Taijul Islam getting in on the act with two in what was a tough day at the office for the batters.

Despite the rank turner that was dished out, Kiwi spinner Mitchell Santner, who was instrumental in bundling out the hosts below 200 by picking up three wickets, said the visitors were prepared for such a challenge heading into the Mirpur Test.

"Yeah, it's spinning, so. That's the challenge when we come over to this part of the world, it does spin, and that's cool. It's good for us to come in and challenge ourselves on these kinds of wickets because when we go back home, we make green ones that can nip around," Santner, who made a comeback to the side after missing out on the first Test in Sylhet, told the media on Wednesday.

"We know how good Bangladesh are at home, and they're very tough to beat on these conditions. They showed that in the first test; the blueprint of how to go about their work on these kinds of surfaces," he added. 

With five wickets in hand, the Kiwis are still trailing by 117 runs. 

"We know it's going to be a challenge. We just talked about trying to build those partnerships. Whoever comes in, it might not be an 80 or 90 but it might be a quick 30. Building those partnerships and trying to get to a level score and then scrap again. It's going to be a bit of a fight for the next few days, no doubt," he said.