Comeback opener Mathew Bell carried New Zealand to a 19-run first innings lead with six wickets in hand on the first day of the first cricket Test against Bangladesh here on Friday.

With Bell unbeaten on 74, New Zealand were 156 for four at stumps after Chris Martin and Jacob Oram had spearheaded an attack which saw the youthful Bangladeshis dismissed in their first innings for 137 on an easy wicket.

Celebrating his recall to the Test side after six years in the wilderness, Bell gathered runs with ease while the rest of the top order failed to fire in what has become a regular pattern for New Zealand in recent Tests.

Earlier, Chris Martin ripped apart the Bangladesh top order batsmen with four for 64, and Oram quelled the middle-order with three for 23 after New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori won the toss and chose to bowl first. For Bangladesh, only Tamim Iqbal offered any resistance by scoring 41.