"Catches win matches" is one of the oldest adages in cricket. There are several occasions when catches have won matches and dropped catches have cost matches.

Bangladesh perhaps could have won a first-ever international match in New Zealand against the hosts at the Hagley Oval on Tuesday had keeper Mushfiqur Rahim held on to a simple catch from Jimmy Neesham and had Mahedi Hasan managed a return catch to send back stand-in skipper Tom Latham, who hit an unbeaten hundred to help New Zealand take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.

"Everybody rued the two dropped catches and that's very natural. But from my perspective, the first win in New Zealand eluded us today because of a poor overall fielding effort. Stats will show you that Taskin Ahmed conceded 67 runs in his ten-over spell without success but I think he bowled brilliantly and was just unlucky. Not only that, he induced some good inside edges but conceded runs because of sloppy fielding," former national captain-turned selector Habibul Bashar, who is touring with the team, told The Daily Star over phone after the match.

"We conceded too many singles and doubles as well as a few boundaries because of fumbles in the field. If you give New Zealand the slightest chance in their own backyard, they will grab it with both hands. Still, those two catches were very costly. The first one could have changed the complexion of the whole game and we could have regained momentum," he continued.

Bashar was disappointed that the Tigers failed to capitalise after the batsmen bounced back from a dismal performance in the first game.

"It was a good wicket to bat on, especially if you consider our batting strength. We were a bit shaky initially because of the first-match disaster, but the batsmen finally showed character and put a fighting total up on the board. I think our overall bowling was also not bad considering the pitch, but there is no point finding positives when you ultimately lose the match."

"I think the only positive sign was that the team bounced back strongly after a poor showing in Dunedin. This performance also showed that we have got the ability to win matches against New Zealand in their own backyard. But they have to prove it by winning. I will only be happy if they can continue their good performance in the next game and win the final one-dayer [on Friday]," he added.

The former skipper also gave credit to skipper Tamim Iqbal for the way the left-hander built up the innings and bolstered the Tigers' confidence. "Tamim not only batted well, the way he is leading the team on and off the field is also very encouraging. But again we have to win."