CHITTAGONG, Oct 21: Captain Daniel Vettori said New Zealand must improve after he was forced into a fighting rearguard to stave off an embarrassing Test defeat to Bangladesh on Tuesday.

Vettori, named Man-of-the-Match for his two half-centuries and nine wickets, said the tourists needed to do much better in the second Test at Dhaka.

“We were not at our best, that is some way off,” he said. “We must show more improvement in the second Test.”

Vettori said New Zealand were forced to turn it around after making only 171 in the first innings, which helped Bangladesh run up a daunting victory target of 317.

“I think we didn’t bat well in the first innings. It was disappointing but the guys realised that it wasn’t really acceptable and we must bat sensibly to improve our chances,” said Vettori.—AFP