Latham is ecstatic upon bringing up his sixth Test hundred
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Opening batsman Tom Latham made a superb 119 not out as New Zealand responded brilliantly after Bangladesh declared on 595 on the third day of the first Test in Wellington.
While Latham stole the spotlight for his century, captain Kane Williamson also deserves some credit for his solid innings of 53.
Starting off the day on 542/7, Bangladesh lost debutant Taskin Ahmed early on for three runs, but Sabbir Rahman went on to make his half-century before Bangladesh declared on 595/8, their second-highest score in Test history.
Sabbir was unbeaten on 54 off 86 balls, which included seven boundaries.
Sabbir scored his second half-century in Test cricket
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Neil Wagner was the pick of the bowlers with four wickets, while Trent Boult and Tim Southee took two wickets apiece.
Trailing by 595 runs, New Zealand got off to a solid start as Latham and Jeet Raval put together a 54-run partnership before Raval fell to Kamrul Islam Rabbi for 27.
Latham and Williamson kept the runs flowing with a 77-run stand, during which both of them brought up their half-centuries.
However, Williamson was unable to go on and make a bigger score as he became Taskin’s first victim in Test cricket on 53, which came off 55 balls and included eight boundaries.
Williamson made his 25th Test fifty
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Latham and Ross Taylor continued to take the attack to Bangladesh with a 74-run partnership before Taylor was caught by Mahmudullah off the bowling of Rabbi for 40.
Latham went on to make his hundred in an unbeaten 87-run partnership with Henry Nicholls before play came to an end due to a drizzle and bad light.
Latham finished on 119 off 222 balls, which included 13 boundaries, while Nicholls remained undefeated on 35 off 96 deliveries, which included four boundaries.
Rabbi was the most successful bowler with two wickets, while Taskin claimed one.
New Zealand ended day three on 292/3 and will continue batting 30 minutes earlier on Sunday at 10:00 local time or 21:00 GMT (the previous day).