Daniel Vettori's spin was stunningly effective late in the day

Bangladesh lost three wickets in the penultimate over of the fourth day as New Zealand's enterprising approach in the Mirpur Test paid off handsomely.

Following three days of solid rain, New Zealand batted first and declared on 262-6 with Jesse Ryder making 91.

Bangladesh had elected to bowl first but saw the tourists recover smoothly from 10-2 to declare after 75 overs.

The hosts' reply was going well until Daniel Vettori produced a triple-wicket maiden and Bangladesh closed on 13-3.

New Zealand skipper Vettori had taken a back seat as the first nine overs were shared between three other bowlers.

But the slow left-armer brought himself on just before the close and earned a wicket with his first delivery. Junaid Siddique came dancing down the track, missed with his attempted drive and was stumped.

Skipper Mohammad Ashraful was lbw two balls later, and Rajin Saleh departed to the final ball of the over, also lbw.

After four balls of the following over, bowled by Jeetan Patel, not-out batsmen Tamim Iqbal and Mehrab Hossain accepted the umpires' offer of bad light.

Assuming Bangladesh can reach the follow-on target of 163 on an extended final day, they should still save the match. But if they fail to do so, a win remains a possibility for New Zealand - if they can take 17 more wickets.

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