Bangladesh's bowlers restricted New Zealand to 201 for nine wickets in the opening one-day international today, the tourists able to post a competitive total thanks to a half century by Jacob Oram. The paceman Mashrafe Mortaza and the left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak led a potent home attack that ripped through the New Zealand order after the tourists had made a solid start. The pacer Shahadat Hossain and the casual spinner Shakib Al Hasan chipped in with a wicket apiece.
Bangladesh won the toss and opted to field on a wicket drenched by overnight rain but the New Zealand started strongly, hitting 47 runs off the first eight overs before losing opener Brendon McCullum. The loss of McCullum sparked a collapse and the visitors lost the next five wickets for 79 runs, putting Bangladesh in a strong position to win the first of a three-match series. However, a seventh-wicket partnership of 70 between Oram and captain Daniel Vettori helped New Zealand advance the score beyond 200 from their allotted 50 overs.
All-rounder Oram smacked one six and four boundaries in his 85-ball innings before he was caught at long on by Syed Rasel off a delivery from Razzak. Vettori was caught at fine-leg by new cap Naeem Islam for 30 off Shakib's bowling. Earlier, the opener Jesse Ryder posted New Zealand's second-highest score of the innings before he was caught by Mahmud Ullah at midwicket off Mortaza. * Reuters
