Williamson ton rescues New Zealand in Sylhet

Kane Williamson emerged as New Zealand's saviour for the umpteenth time in his career and compiled a patient hundred to help the tourists finish day two of the opening Test against Bangladesh on 8-266.

New Zealand batters struggled against Bangladesh's spin-heavy attack on a turning track in Sylhet on Wednesday, but Williamson batted close to five hours for his cultured 104, which included 11 fours.

His 29th Test hundred – not a chanceless one – drew him level with Australia great Don Bradman and India stalwart Virat Kohli.

It's the fourth successive Test that Williamson has scored a century, following tons at home against Sri Lanka (twice) and England at the start of the year.

Captain Tim Southee (one) and Kyle Jamieson (seven) will resume New Zealand's bid to erase the 44-run deficit when play continues on Thursday in what promises to be a low-scoring contest.

Earlier, Bangladesh were all out for 310 after Southee claimed the last wicket of Shoriful Islam with the first delivery of the day.

"It is one of those surfaces where it is hard to get a rhythm. You will get some good balls as well. I thought the application was good," Williamson said.

"It would have been naturally nice to get a few more. Everybody would like to be out there fighting for the side. It has certainly posed a number of challenges out there. The wicket is deteriorating quite quickly, so we have to keep moving with it."

New Zealand lost Tom Latham, Devon Conway and Henry Nicholls before reaching the 100-mark but Williamson featured in three half-century partnerships to keep New Zealand in the contest.

Daryl Mitchell (41) and Glenn Phillips (42) made useful contributions while Williamson held up one end.

The top-order batter took a single off Nayeem Hasan to bring up his hundred before left-arm spinner Taijul Islam (4-89) breached his stubborn defence after Williamson attempted a forward defensive shot.

"If you drop some chances, it will be a costly one," Bangladesh spin bowling coach Rangana Herath said.

"You saw the Kane Williamson ones. He gave opportunities on 63 and 70. He got a hundred. He got the innings going. We need to get those chances as much as we can."

At 5-253, New Zealand looked set to grab the lead but Bangladesh claimed four wickets in the final session to leave the match evenly poised.