On pitch-talk, I posted this at end of NZ innings and I do think this pitch has flattened further and slowed a little... but it's still far from the flattest NZ pitch produced in recent years.
This pitch is flat but not as slow as many NZ ones, a new-ball surface. Could yet ease to a real road, not sure. Bangladesh batting probably won't punish NZ for this low first innings score, but if they somehow can get through the first thirty overs only one or two down, there's no reason they shouldn't make it count.
It's flat and the dry weather is certainly not injecting any additional life into it, or been great for swing bowling, but our bowling has been slightly sub-par, maybe slightly unlucky and Bangladesh batsmen have avoided doing anything dumb like guiding catches to slips like Rahane/Thakur. Pitch is even-paced but not turgid (like Seddon and Uni Oval sometimes are).
The commentators showed a graphic yesterday morning, that the mean bounce from a good length in the first innings was 11cm higher than the last Bay Oval test pitch, which is pretty significant. This backs up that it was quicker, at least initially. I would be interested if they'd show the same graphic again, see if it shows a reduction since then.
Of course it's likely the pitch will only become flatter and flatter in these last two days in this weather, which is a standard problem amongst NZ pitches. I would be tremendously surprised if it breaks up or shows significant uneven bounce. NZ ain't winning this and Bangladesh will have to bowl exceptionally well and apply scoreboard/exhaustion pressure to force a result. Still it's a great chance for them.
tldr - no real complaints from me about how the pitch has played in the first three days. Complaints probably will be valid when the pitch only gets flatter on day 4 and 5, but that's a common problem across NZ pitches.
