Rutherford confident of NZ chances

New Zealand's 89-run lead at the end of the third day is significant enough to force a win, according to opening batsmanHamish Rutherford. But he was wary of the pitch at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong, which has shown signs of deterioration.

Bangladesh ended the day on 380 for 7, with Sohag Gazi and Abdur Razzak at the crease. Whatever total Bangladesh end up at, they are likely to get there quickly and the prospect of a result would then depend on how New Zealand approach their second innings.

"I still believe that we have a good chance of winning," Rutherford said. "Leading into day five, if we can take these wickets early tomorrow and score some quick runs, hopefully the pitch can help us take those wickets.

"I wouldn't say in a couple of sessions," Rutherford said when asked about how much time would New Zealand need to dismiss Bangladesh on the last day. "Maybe two and a half. I think that is an ideal target. If it does tend to break-up and there's some scoreboard pressure, we have always thought that we could probably force a collapse."

Mominul Haque, Bangladesh's best batsman on the day, lamented the seven wickets that Bangladesh lost, particularly the ones after his dismissal with two hours of play left.

"It would have been better if we lost one less wicket. I think Mushfiqur bhai and I could have stayed a little more. He was helping me a lot, telling me to be careful against the second new ball," he said.

Rutherford reflected on a tough day for New Zealand as despite the wickets, Bangladesh batted well. The bowlers had to toil hard, with Doug Bracewell and Corey Anderson picking up two wickets. Bracewell was attacked frequently by Mominul but the debutant left-arm seamer, Anderson, was tighter.

Trent Boult, Ish Sodhi and Kane Williamson took the other three wickets to fall, but it wasn't the greatest of times for Bruce Martin, going wicketless in 21 overs. Sodhi too gave away 89 runs at more than four an over, but Rutherford said the team would keep backing him to bowl aggressively.