Bell helped steady the New Zealand innings after an unsteady start

Matthew Bell's unbeaten half-century in his first Test in over six years saw New Zealand end day one of the first Test against Bangladesh firmly on top.

Bell made 74 not out to help the Kiwis recover from a slow start and reach stumps on 156-4 in reply to Bangladesh's miserable total of 137.

Chris Martin captured four wickets and all-rounder Jacob Oram three as the tourists collapsed before tea.

And Bell pressed home the advantage with a fluent knock to end the day.

He struck 14 fours in his 123-ball innings as he kept his head while wickets fell around him early on.

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Opener Craig Cumming was trapped lbw for just one by debutant seamer Sajidul Islam, while Peter Fulton (14), Stephen Fleming (14) and Mathew Sinclair (29) all made starts but failed to go on.

However, Oram picked up where he had left off with the ball to partner Bell to the end of the day and put the Kiwis 19 runs ahead with six wickets in hand.

Earlier, only teenager Tamim Iqbal provided any resistance with the bat for the tourists, the 18-year-old opener striking 53 off 88 balls in Dunedin.